After 10 years of fundraising, planning and construction, the grand re-opening of the Vulcan and District Museum could happen as early as spring 2016.
“I have to think positive that this has been a 10-year project we’ve been working on and now we can see the fruition of that,” said Walter McNiven, director of the Vulcan and District Historical Society and chairman of the building committee for phase three.
“We can see the end of the tunnel as far as a grand opening and more artifacts coming in from the people and hopefully more people will also visit the premises.”
Fundraising efforts for the new museum renovations began in 2005 and construction began on Nov. 18, 2014 on the new phase three expansion. Goss Architectural Design Group was responsible for the design of the new phase three expansion, and Westco Construction was responsible for building it.
The new amenities in the 286 square metre open-concept expansion include new handicap accessible washrooms, mechanical room, storage room, heating and electrical rooms, archival room, and exhibition area. The final site inspection wrapped up Nov. 19, said McNiven...
...Phase three of the building was originally estimated to cost $448,974, but after rectifying change orders to meet fire code regulations the price tag will be closer to $475,000, said McNiven.
“We’ve had substantial financial support from people who have given us donations, as well as businesses and organizations from this community, and memoriams from people who have been deceased,” he said.
“We’re very appreciative of the generous support we’ve received from this community and elsewhere. We’ve received donations of $5,000 from people in Calgary as well as Edmonton who had connections with this community.”
The Vulcan and District Historical Society is a not-for-profit organization and therefore unable to borrow money for this project.
McNiven said he’s asked frequently when the building will be reopened, but there’s still “a lot of work to be done”.
Even when the building receives its occupancy certificate permit, including designing and building the new displays, reorganizing more than 1,500 catalogued artifacts and moving the archives into the new phase three room. McNiven also said the new archives will be publicly accessible in the new facility...
...The original museum was housed in the old Alberta Government Telephone (AGT) building. The Vulcan and District Museum opened to the public Aug. 1, 1998, to coincide with Vulcan’s 85th anniversary.
Phase one construction of the building involved the restoration of the one-room country school, Prospect Slope, donated by Doug and Brenda McIntyre.
Phase two was the construction of the foyer, dedicated to the Lewis and Ware families, to connect Prospect Slope to the AGT building. The grand opening took place July 19, 2002.
From the Vulcan Advocate