A mural painted on the exterior of the Wisconsin Maritime Heritage Center in Manitowoc, honoring Captain Edward Carus, June 13, 2024. (Photo courtesy: Wisconsin Maritime Museum)
MANITOWOC, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A large photo mural paying tribute to an illustrious Great Lakes ship captain who hailed from Northeast Wisconsin is now complete.
The 50-foot mural adorns the exterior of the Wisconsin Maritime Heritage Center at 1221 Franklin Street in Manitowoc, which serves as the secondary collections facility of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum.
The mural honors Captain Edward Carus, who was born in Manitowoc in 1860. He began his career on the Great Lakes sailing aboard schooners, and spent many years as a captain for the Goodrich Line. Carus also researched and recorded the maritime heritage of the regions where he sailed, especially the western shore of Lake Michigan.
In the 1930s, Carus found himself in financial distress. He sold his maritime collection to Henry Barkhausen, who later donated it to the Wisconsin Maritime Museum.
Carus died of a stroke in 1947 while sitting outside his home at 1209 Franklin Street in Manitowoc. The house was eventually torn down to allow for the development of a car dealership parking lot. However, that dealership and the site of Carus’ former home are now part of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum’s off-site collections storage facility where the mural was enacted.
Officials say the Carus mural is the inaugural installment of the Maritime Heritage Garden Project, which will soon blossom into a lush green space.
While the mural is intended to capture Carus’ legacy, it’s also meant to be a visual representation of Manitowoc’s rich maritime history. The mural features images from the Carus Collection, including “A Forest of Schooners in the Manitowoc River 1881” and “Captain Carus in Air Funnel of Pere Marquette 19 – 1903.”
A $10,000 contribution from the City of Manitowoc’s Room Tax funds funded the creation of the mural.
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