From its perch on the Delaware riverfront, Independence Seaport Museum was easily overshadowed by bigger, lustier Center City locales for weddings, meetings, and private parties.

So, with the aim of becoming a serious contender in the fiercely competitive market for special-events business, the museum has been undergoing a $100,000 makeover to spruce up its outdoor and indoor spaces.

"There is a lot of competition, but no one has the views that we do," museum president Lori Dillard Rech said during a tour last week of the museum at South Columbus Boulevard and Walnut Street, just behind the Hyatt Regency at Penn's Landing. "I want it to become the top-rated and top-used, unique rental space in the city."

No small goal, considering that among the Seaport Museum's rivals are such venerable heavyweights as the Franklin Institute, the Kimmel Center, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Please Touch Museum, and the National Constitution Center.

But Dillard Rech, former executive director of the Betsy Ross House in Old City, said that ever since she arrived at the museum two years ago, it has been her mission to be included in the same conversation as those elite venues.

"We're in the Top 10 now, so I know we can make it," she said. "The space really lends itself so well to rentals."

The Seaport Museum's revamped spaces will be unveiled at a gala tonight for more than 300 party and meeting planners, floral arrangers, and others in the events industry.

In June, the museum announced a partnership with Culinary Concepts, a Philadelphia-based catering company run by James Israel, to reposition itself as a major events venue that can host events 24/7 - not just after hours, as the others do. The partnership, called Events at ISM, will handle all food and event planning for the museum.

The Seaport Museum has just shy of 10,000 square feet outdoors, including a 3,000-square-foot amphitheater patio. The second floor features a 1,000-square-foot theater that seats 63, a 530-seat auditorium, and more than 3,000 square feet of gallery space.

"It's not just about throwing a wedding up here," said Israel, who started Culinary Concepts in 1987. "I believe we can put more music in the Concert Hall. I'm talking to more shows and film festivals that need spaces. We're really focused on marketing the whole venue . . . and building a brand."

To generate industry buzz, tonight's gathering will highlight the museum's fourth floor, with its repainted walls, new carpeting, lighting, tables and 300 ballroom chairs, and a newly installed curtain to separate the foyer from the refinished dance floor.

Despite the soft economy, hospitality experts say the market for events venues is growing.

"Both waterfront locales and museums are proven popular meeting and social-event venues here in Philadelphia and other major cities, capitalizing on views and uniqueness," said Peter Tyson, vice president of PKF Consulting in Center City.

"Moderately priced events, particularly weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, reunions, etc., will continue to seek such venues, even in the current economy," he said.

Event budgets have been slashed, and meeting planners have learned to do "more with less" - the more options, the better, said Michael Lyons, president and CEO of GEP Philly, a destination-management and event-planning firm.

"Having an eclectic portfolio of venues is also important, so we can remain competitive with other major cities, whose own offerings are extensive and appealing," Lyons said.

Weddings, in particular, have been a hit at the Franklin Institute, said Lois Switken, director of sales and catering at the largest non-hotel-related venue for convention events in the city. Switken said the institute has seen a 3 to 5 percent growth each year in weddings, and is now hosting 30 to 35 a year.

Another client sector that is still going strong is developmental groups, such as hospitals and nonprofits, Israel said. Those organizations are helping to make up for decreased business from corporations, which have cut back on parties.

"They are still holding events to raise funds," said Israel.

ISM has partnerships with vendors for transportation and wedding rings, among other services, he said. For example, the adjacent Hyatt Regency is offering discounted room rates and providing space for certain events.

First established in 1960 as the Philadelphia Maritime Museum at 210 S. Sixth St., the Seaport Museum became a nonprofit five years later, and moved to various locations along Chestnut Street. In 1995, it moved to its current location in the former Port of History building.

The Seaport Museum made news when it was revealed that former State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo and his friends cruised off Martha's Vineyard in a yacht it had provided free of charge. Fumo was found guilty earlier this year of defrauding the museum with the help of its former president John C. Carter, who is serving a 15-year prison term for stealing from the institution in an unrelated case.

Dillard Rech said the museum's Penn's Landing location has been both a blessing and a disadvantage.

"I think the lack of development along the waterfront has certainly made it so that we're kind of the lone soul here trying to market ourselves," she said. "That's why I think creating these partnerships with the Hyatt and the others to leverage our resources is ideal."

Contact staff writer Suzette Parmley at 215-854-2594 or sparmley@phillynews.com.