The International Cryptozoology Museum has nearly completed its move from Portland to Bangor and plans to open April 1.
The museum dedicated to unknown creatures like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster will soon welcome visitors at its new location, 490 Broadway, according to Assistant Director Christopher Packard.
The institution will bring an international attraction to Bangor and be an asset for locals and visitors alike, Packard said.
The opening in Bangor has been years in the making. Director Loren Coleman, a prominent cryptozoologist who founded the museum in 2003, initially planned to open the Bangor museum in 2024 but found that the building on Broadway, which had been vacant for years and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, required major renovations.
“We really kind of started the slow process of moving up here years ago and I think I think some people gave up hope on us, but it’s just a big undertaking,” Packard said.
The museum previously opened a store at 585 Hammond St. in Bangor in 2021, but closed it in 2024. Artifacts that were displayed in the shop are being integrated into the museum on Broadway, Packard said.
Most of the artifact cases are in place and most of the moving boxes have been unpacked in the new building after staff began the moving process in the first weekend of February, he said, thanks to “an amazing team of local volunteers.”
The museum’s planned April 1 opening is dependent on permits and some work that still needs to be done outside of the building like adding signage and parking, according to Packard.
The International Cryptozoology Museum is a natural fit in Bangor, said Packard, who has been assistant director of the museum for about two and a half years.
“We’ve got Stephen King and we’ve got the giant Paul Bunyan statue and we’ve got all of these sort of odd and unusual things and I think being able to lean into that part of Bangor is helping us,” he said.
Packard is also a full-time science teacher at Bangor High School. He has helped organize the Maine Witch Walk and the Bangor Authors’ Book Fair and wrote a book about Maine cryptids, which refers to mythical creatures.
“It’s fun to look at those things that are sort of on the verge of folklore and biology and have fun with that part of human experience,” he said.
The museum could draw more people to Bangor and add another fun thing for residents to do in the city, Packard said.
“It’s a world-class attraction,” he said, adding that it is the largest and oldest cryptozoology museum in the world. “We’re just bringing more cool things to Bangor that’ll give people who maybe would otherwise just pass through on their way to Acadia or not think to drive up from mid-coast or just landing at the airport to actually pause and see all the really cool stuff that Bangor has.”
The museum has hosted a cryptozoology conference in the past and plans to host another one within the next year, which could draw people from around the world, Packard said.
At the same time, he added, the Portland museum also drew visitors who lived in the area.
The museum’s old location was open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. It plans to start out with those hours in Bangor and may reevaluate as staff get a sense of visitor traffic, according to Packard.
The building features an Art-Deco style window and is the only example of Streamline Moderne architecture in Maine, he said.
The property was built in 1945 and has been home to a variety of businesses, most recently the Bangor Redemption Center. It’s been empty since the center closed in 2018.
Coleman purchased the building in 2023 and has been careful to preserve the exterior architecture, Packard said. Renovations have included repouring a cement floor, furnace repairs, safety upgrades, re-wiring, and adding doors, walls and bathrooms.
Moving to Bangor has allowed the museum to quadruple its space, Packard said, adding that the museum building in Portland was very narrow, so the Queen City building will have more room to space out artifacts and create a better experience for guests.