Progress at the Museum
Posted February 27, 2015 at 5:45 am by Tim Dustrude
You know that the San Juan Historical Society and Museum is working on their new project, the Museum of History and Industry, right? Click here (and here) if you need a refresher on that.
Well, it’s coming along with significant progress being made, most recently a new floor, and finished walls with insulation and a heat pump in the atrium. But that’s not all – they’ve also created the entrance to the Fishing Exhibit, (which was originally slated to be the first exhibit to be completed) and have started on the docks and pilings motif within. They have a very nice looking “cannery wall” as well.
The Atrium of the new museum building with the Fishing Exhibit entrance nearly complete – Contributed photo
However, with a sudden flurry of interest and donor money available for the Lime and Logging Industry exhibits, they are now putting their energy on that. Plans include an entryway made with real limestone, a model of a lime kiln and a simulated lime furnace where you can open the door and feel the heat from inside, part of a cord of wood to give a sense of how much those things burned. (At the height of their operation, each kiln could burn 3 to 4 cords of firewood per day). There will also be photos and video exhibits.
Adjoining the Lime exhibit will be the Logging Exhibit where there will be trees, various period chainsaws, two-man saws, part of a sawmill and again, photos and video displays to explain the history.
Judging from the plans and drawings, and of course the progress they’ve already made, it looks like it will be a really cool museum when completed. But that’s not the end of it – as museum board member Don Nixon says “We envision that the museum and each of its exhibits will continue to evolve after the opening, and we will invite interested members of the community to help steer that evolution in ways that will help engage islanders and visitors alike to have a stronger connection to the island’s past.”
An open house will be Wednesday, March 11 from 5 – 8 p.m. for the public to stop by and see how things are progressing.
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Categories: Around Here, History
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