It really bothered Ed Kavanagh last year when a walking tour of Wiscasset was still in the works, and tourists continued to pass by buildings with no idea of the histories they hold.

“It killed me all summer,” he said.

Kavanagh and other volunteers had hoped to have the “Museum in the Streets” tour in place by then.

It's been about four years in the making. Fundraising and other tasks like deciding which spots to include have taken longer than Kavanagh ever thought they would, he said.

But the project, which has seen some turnover in volunteers, is finally very close to fruition. Kavanagh said January 2 that he expects the posts, displays and brochures to be in place this spring.

Earlier in the day, volunteers met to look over proofs of the panels that will comprise the self-guided tour. The company working on them had some concerns about the quality of the photographs, but Kavanagh, president of the Lincoln County Historical Association, said he thought they looked about as good as they could, considering their age.

“We're dealing with 150-year-old pictures, in some cases,” he said.

The group rescanned photographs to see if they would come out any better.

“It's just kind of a final nail,” Kavanagh said of one of the last steps in the project.

There's also about another $6,000 to $7,000 to raise for the 2.5-inch-diameter metal posts that most of the sites' panels will go on; the brochures; and hopefully a small fund to tap for more brochures as needed, Kavanagh said. Private donations have comprised the first, approximately $21,000 raised for the project, he said.

The tour will have 29, weather-resistant panels featuring some history and photographs of the sites. Most panels will have at least two photographs, Kavanagh said. Sites include Castle Tucker on Lee Street, the Nickels-Sortwell House on Main Street, the Creamery Pier, the 1811 Old Jail on Federal Street, the First Congregational Church on High Street and the 1824 Lincoln County Courthouse.

Three additional, larger panels, one each at the corner of Main and Water streets, the town common, and the 1870 former federal customs house on Water Street, show photographs selected from the panels, a map to all the panels' locations, and a brief history of Wiscasset.

Kavanagh is looking forward to the project's end. It's like a pregnancy, he said: “I'm very anxious and very confident for it to be coming to fruition, and I'm hoping for it to be sooner rather than later.”

Then all he'll have left to do is occasionally replace the brochures when he's out walking his dogs.

Tax-deductible donations may made payable to Wiscasset Museum in the Streets and mailed to Wiscasset Museum in the Streets, P.O. Box 16, Wiscasset, ME 04578.