THE ROAD AHEAD Posts

We are SO close to finishing… and naturally, we had to encounter a blip or two as we near the finish line. The floors were ground down to the original concrete, but it turns out we have “soft” concrete (I have no idea what that means since I’ve taken a spill or two and it never seemed “soft” to me) but it doesn’t cure or respond as predictably as the hard stuff. Who knew?

No worries! We only hire the best, and the best make it all work out in the end. So this will be a slight delay, but given current events, a week’s delay won’t really impact our busy schedule too much. But enjoy this quickie tour as we prepare to wrap things up!

Anyone who has visited the Marshall Steam Museum in the last decade knows that the floors have been an eyesore. They’ve been painted (and repainted) repeatedly, but the wear and tear from the cars (in particular the steam cars) left them a chipped mess. Today, the floor gets the makeover it deserves… starting with a nice grinding to remove more than 70 years of abuse.

I realize it’s been quite some time since I’ve posted an update, so I thought I’d give everyone a quick tour of the museum. Things are moving swiftly now, and the finishes are starting to make things look phenomenal — for a site under construction, of course. Walls are painted, ductwork is in place, and the roll-up doors are installed. The HVAC team is hard at work in the attic, and if weather permits this week, perhaps the exterior will get its coat of paint.

I will try to be better about posting progress… but I’d better be quick because things look different each day!

The sun is shining, and the siding is going on! Each step forward is exciting.

I just couldn’t help the pun… but it’s a true sign of progress when the ducts are all lined up and ready for installation. The new museum will have “conditioned space,” meaning central air conditioning as well as improved heat & humidity controls for the comfort of our visitors and the preservation of our collections. The last pieces of drywall are going up in the main area ceiling today, and the exterior siding was delivered moments ago. I cannot wait to see what the week ahead holds!

Despite ongoing pandemic worries, work continues on the museum renovations and addition. With the physical structure starting to take shape, our focus turns to the displays and interpretation that will soon debut inside. It’s hard to visualize how the many pieces will fit together without a model to experiment with, so we employed a bit of hot glue, foam board and corrugated plastic and … voila: a simplified model of the museum and addition. We’ll share more as we build out plans, but in the meantime, I am happy to post a couple videos so you can take a peek inside the space. We’re pretty pleased with how it’s coming along and cannot thank our construction partners enough for their hard work. Hat’s off to Commonwealth Construction Company and our awesome Project Supervisor Pat Schuh.

Come along and see for yourself why we’re starting to get excited at what the future holds:

The sun is shining, and the roof is going on the new museum addition. Amidst all the chaos, these are welcome signs of spring and hope!

Something about new construction has always captivated me. I can wander through recently framed houses for hours, imagining how the spaces will take shape and projecting what I would do with each one. The power of imagination is exhilarating — and of course it’s that sense of innovation and energetic creativity that we seek to fuel through our educational programming.

The image above shows the interior of the addition, looking towards the area reserved for our new ADA-compliant restrooms. I never thought I’d be so excited by toilets… but for us, these are a game changer. The old three-season restrooms on the site will remain, but no longer will we have to send visiting children on a field trip (or a bride enjoying her wedding reception, for that matter) outside in the rain to hike up the hill if they need to use the facilities. Indoor plumbing comes to the Marshall Steam Museum!

I remember as a kid haunting construction sites and walking around in new houses as the rooms started to take shape, imagining what each space might become. Was I standing in the future kitchen or dining room? How would I configure the rooms if I were the architect or owner? In many ways, the museum project is unfolding in much the same fashion, and while I’m no longer trespassing (I was more fearful then that my mother would find out than I was of the crews or owners), I still feel the thrill of watching the progress. When the roof goes on and the interior walls start to go up, I’ll be sure to share more photos so stay tuned!

My colleague Alli Schell and I traveled to the Small Museum Association Meeting over the holiday weekend (a tradition that fuels creativity and connectivity among small museum professionals across the region and the country), and as I left on Friday, I vowed that we expected to see walls upon our return! It was part wish and part challenge since I’d been told repeatedly that things would move more quickly once the project reached the framing stage. So I was both relieved and excited to see the image above when I drove onto the site this morning! What will tomorrow bring?