year -- with a $5 million refit.

The Commissioner's House is on course to be opened as the showcase headquarters of the Bermuda Maritime Museum by the end of 1999.

Museum chiefs last night revealed the latest timescale for the revamped landmark to be opened to the public after years of on-off renovation work.

They are expecting a ship-load of mahogany, from Africa via Canada, to arrive at Dockyard within weeks.

Workers will use the wood to finish renovating the top floor of the house by the end of summer.

Then the bottom two floors of the house will be opened to include exhibits late next year.

Maritime Museum director Dr. Edward Harris told The Royal Gazette of the ambitious plan to open the building to tourists for the first time ever.

He said: "The Commissioner's House is being restored and it will be the most important official 19th Century building in Bermuda.

"It's a 30,000 square-foot building and the cost of opening it up will be between $4.5 and $5 million.

"Capital has been gathered through private fundraising. Remember that the Commissioner's House was never open generally to the public apart from occasional visitors more than 50 years ago.

"Now it's going to be a major asset for the West End of the Island and Bermuda tourism.'' It is understood the Museum has already applied for a Government grant to help pay for the massive project.

Dr. Harris added: "The building is of international importance because it was the first house in the world to have a complete pre-fabricatated cast-iron structural frame.

"And it has been used for many different things in the history of Bermuda.'' The house, built in 1823 with 24-inch thick brick walls, has served as a residence for the Royal Navy Commissioner and provided accommodation for the Royal Marines.

But it was also the main communications nerve centre for World War II naval operations in the north Atlantic.

The building finally fell into disrepair after British military forces quit the Island in 1951.

But Dr. Harris said: "The house was the main radio interception centre during World War II and we are hoping to open that part of it as a museum exhibit.

"The renovation scheme will give us an extra 15,000 square feet of exhibit space.

"We could also rent out part of the upper floor for conferences because it is a spectacular venue.'' The top floor will include four replica "ward rooms'', or ships' dining rooms, to host conferences and board meetings.

Directors of the museum will also use the rooms for their own top-level meetings.

Dr. Harris said the African mahogany, being specially prepared in Canadian mills, was now being loaded onto a Bermuda-bound ship.

"We need the new wood for major restoration and refurbishment work inside the building,'' he said.

"The verandah has needed major repair work and half of that has been done.

The problem we faced was that half of the original mahogany was lost or had to be replaced.

"But now we're scheduled to have finished the top level of the building by the end of summer, which would hopefully allow us to unveil the new-look Commissioner's House by the end of 1999.''