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The work to convert a former bank and a retail shop into an expansion of the |
By CLINT SCHEMMER
Now it can be told.
The day that many area motorists, merchants and townsfolk have been waiting for is Saturday, Dec. 6.
That's when the Fredericksburg Area Museum and Cultural Center's new Catherine W. Jones McKann Center will open its doors to the public for the first time.
In making the announcement yesterday, museum President Edwin W. Watson noted that the grand-opening date falls nearly on the 20th anniversary of the institution's opening in the old Town Hall/Market House.
Watson and his staff have been looking forward to this latest occasion since they started raising money for the expansion in early 2004.
"The museum wishes to thank the community for its support and patience during the expansion project," said Christina Esposito, director of development and external affairs. "We see our grand-opening weekend as an opportunity to express that gratitude and introduce the community to this wonderful new resource for education, entertainment and community engagement."
After a ribbon-cutting ceremony that Saturday morning, the museum will welcome visitors to both buildings--free of charge--throughout the weekend.
Grand-opening events will include special programming on Saturday in the McKann Center and free, family-friendly activities in its Learning Center on Sunday.
The Friday evening before the opening, the museum will host a preview party to thank people who contributed to the project's success and to its Banking on History capital campaign.
The fundraising effort, overseen by local businessman Charles G. McDaniel, has brought in about $11 million toward its $12 million goal--and is in "its final million-dollar stretch," Esposito said.
a special exhibit
The McKann Center will meld two structures--a historic bank building at William and Princess Anne streets and an adjacent retail store--to provide 19,500 square feet for new exhibits, the Learning Center, a new museum shop and staff offices. The complex renovations began in July 2006.
In recent weeks, museum officials had to postpone the center's planned November opening when a contractor needed more time to install exhibits. Installation will begin in late September and run through November, Esposito said.
As staff, interns, volunteers and contractors prepare for the McKann Center's opening, the museum will offer free admission Aug. 30-Sept. 7 to its Town Hall site.
The institution wants to give people a last opportunity to see "John Adams Elder: Fredericksburg's Artist of the Civil War," a once-in-
"We plan to close the exhibit with a little bit of a bang," she said. "The museum is being loaned a very significant Elder painting to exhibit for the last part of that show."
changes at existing site
As part of the museum's expansion, the Town Hall site will close to undergo minor renovations from Sept. 8 through Oct. 24. Its museum shop will be moved across William Street into the McKann Center.
The space now occupied by the shop will be renovated for a new reception area for visitors. At the same time, the hall's third floor--where Fredericksburg's governing council met from 1817 until 1982--will be made ready to reopen to the public in early December.
When Town Hall reopens Oct. 25, "Fredericksburg: Then and Now," Assistant Curator Christopher Uebelhor's temporary exhibit of vintage and contemporary photos of area buildings and sites, will debut.
During the building's brief closure, the adjacent Market Square will remain active with its First Fridays at the Museum concert series.
Clint Schemmer: 540/368-5029
Email: cschemmer@freelancestar.com
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Buildings and exhibits aren't the only things the Fredericksburg Area Museum is sprucing up. Its Web site, famcc.org, was recently |
