Peaks Island, Maine: Umbrella Cover Museum
The tiny, one-room museum contains over 2,000 umbrella covers. It's run by a woman named Nancy 3 Hoffman, who plays the accordion for all of her visitors.
- Address:
- 62 Island Ave., Peaks Island, ME
- Directions:
- From the Casco Bay Lines on Commercial St. in Portland, take the ferry out to Peaks Island. Walk up from the docks to the main road and take a left. The Umbrella Cover museum is a little past the general store on the left.
- Hours:
- Summertime only. (Call to verify)
- Phone:
- 207-939-0301
- RA Rates:
- Worth a Detour
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This whimsical and wonderful museum is back, looking better than ever. Nancy, the owner, is still greeting everyone with a smile and saying goodbye with a song, "Just Let a Smile Be Your Umbrella" on her accordion.
[Tim OBrien, 08/02/2024]
The Umbrella Cover Museum is usually in a small building, just minutes from the ferry, but she didn't let the virus shut her down this summer. She rented a tent and is now operating outside, where she feels it is safer.
Nancy 3 Hoffman (yep, 3 is her legal middle name) has more than 2,000 umbrella covers of which she can only show a small portion in her current tented attraction. Her tent is down the street from her house; there are directions posted at her door. She is also a singer and an accordion player and serenades all her guests. She has CDs of her music for sale. She plans to remain outside as long as possible, then shut down for the season. She's open only during the summer months and her hours vary, so before you make the trek into the Atlantic, call first to verify that she will be there.
[Tim O'Brien, 09/15/2020]Sounds crazy, but on the main stretch of road on tiny Peaks Island Maine, there is a museum dedicated entirely to Umbrella covers. Not the umbrellas themselves, mind you. Just the covers. There are wooden, fabric, old and new.
The tiny one-room museum is run by a lady named Nancy 3 (yes, the number 3 -- we spoke with her at length and that is legally her name).
[Angel, 06/20/2009]Nearby Offbeat Places
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Opened in 1996 by Nancy 3 (Hoffman). The collection currently numbers over 700, and includes a Japanese mini-spa cover with an internal massaging pod, and a cover made from discarded gum wrappers.