It’s Gonna Be A Bit Before Bangor’s Cryptozoology Museum Opens Up

Maine folks interested in the unusual and mysterious are likely familiar with Loren Coleman's International Cryptozoology Museum.

For many years, the museum was open on Congress Street in Portland. Then it moved to a bigger location at 32 Resurgam Place in Portland. Within the last few years, the museum's Director Coleman, decided to start the transition to opening up a space in the Bangor area, at 490 Broadway.

When asked why he wanted to make the move to Bangor, he responded:

"Affordability and permanency. When we started to consider how to find a larger place to move to as we reached our 20th year several months ago, we were faced with costs x3 what we could afford. We finally surveyed property in Bangor and found a historically significant location we could buy & renovate. Add to this maintenance, staffing, and annual costs, the solution was secure for all involved. Bangor is becoming a tourist mecca on the way up. Our future is at 490 Broadway Bangor ~ where 30,000 cars pass by daily."

The building Coleman chose as the new site of the International Cryptozoology Museum is in the historic Hasey's Maine Stages Building (which was originally constructed in the 1940s), has officially been added to the National Register of Historic Places, and as such has to follow a specific protocol for the renovations that need to be completed.

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The City of Bangor gave some grant money to use towards replacing some glass windows.

The building, which has stood vacant since 2018, needs a significant amount of work before it can safely house exhibits and withstand the foot traffic Coleman hopes will make its way to the museum.

It did, for a while, have a sign on it that said the museum would open in 2024.

Read More: Will The New Cryptozoology Museum In Bangor Open This Year?

But in a comment online, Coleman advised folks interested in the museum's exhibits to visit the Portland location through 2025, saying the he expects Bangor to be closed for renovations through 2026.

This past February, there were some efforts made online to raise money to replace this structure's aged boiler system.

More recently, someone has set up a fundraising page on social media, on behalf of the Cryptozoology Museum's renovation efforts.

Hopefully, the money is raised and the work finished, so we can all finally get a peek at the cool stuff they plan to put inside it.

In the meantime, the Portland Museum is still open, and according to his website, Coleman says the Bangor bookstore location is open on weekends.

You can also visit the bookstore/gift shop Coleman opened on Hammond Street in April of 2022.