At a time when many institutions and businesses have been scaling back operations, we are delighted to see that one of the region’s most venerable and prestigious landmarks, Mystic Seaport, has been expanding its horizons and stature.

For the past four winters the Seaport, which properly takes pride in calling itself the Museum of America and the Sea, had been forced to close the first six weeks of each year because of declining attendance, but now it will remain open while navigating closer toward completion of an ambitious, transformative building project.

The sweeping and stunning $11.5 million exhibition hall under construction, with an opening planned for the fall of 2016, will help establish the museum as a year-round destination instead of a largely three-season attraction.

The Thompson Exhibit Building, named for the late Wade Thompson, a longtime Seaport trustee and benefactor, also will help define the north end of the property off Route 27 on the east bank of the Mystic River as an entrance to the maritime museum, instead of simply a random assortment of buildings. This is especially important because most visitors approach from this direction via Interstate 95.

En route tourists also will pass the Coogan Farm Nature & Heritage Center, a similarly inspirational project being carried out by the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center that will make their introduction to Mystic more visually appealing than the collection of gas stations, restaurants and motels that greet visitors when they exit the highway.

When travelers reach the Seaport less than a mile south they will encounter the exquisitely curved Thompson building that evokes an appropriately maritime image.

The main 5,000-square-foot exhibit space inside the 14,000-square-foot building is expected to be one of the largest in New England, allowing Mystic Seaport to display more of its impressive collection indoors, as well as host larger traveling exhibits.

This upcoming winter patrons will be able to visit the 10 exhibit halls at the north end of the property, along with the children’s museum, the Morgan, planetarium and membership building. Next year those exhibit halls will be incorporated into the new Thompson building.

The new center is being built in the wake of one of Mystic Seaport’s most successful and noteworthy endeavors, restoration of the Charles W. Morgan, the nation’s last surviving wooden whaling ship. The five-year construction project, culminating last year with the vessel’s 38th voyage to historic ports throughout New England, attracted international attention and acclaim.

These must now translate into increased support from the local community. We encourage residents to visit, or better yet, become members.

The Mystic institution also continues to enjoy a well-deserved reputation for authentic shipbuilding and restoration. Earlier this week The Mayflower II, a replica of the ship that brought the Pilgrims to the New World in 1620, left Massachusetts, en route to continued maintenance and repairs at the Seaport’s Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard. Shipwrights and maritime artisans will replace the half-deck area and work on the tween deck and topmast rigging before The Mayflower II will be towed back to Plymouth in the spring. Visitors will be able to observe restoration work over the winter.

This newspaper credits Mystic Seaport’s visionary President Steve White and his inspired staff for setting an impressive course, and for museum workers who tend to regard their employment as a calling rather than simply as a job.

We wish all continued fair winds and following seas.