Manitowoc's Rahr-West to open elevator for first time in 72-year history. 3 things to know about the museum and project.
MANITOWOC - Rahr-West Art Museum is inviting the public to a ribbon-cutting of its new elevator, which will allow barrier-free access to the mansion section of the museum for the first time in its 72-year history.
The ribbon-cutting will be at 1 p.m. May 19 at the museum, 610 N. Eighth St., and will include short remarks followed by light refreshments. Admission is free.
Participating in the ribbon-cutting will be project designers, builders, and representatives of state and local government and arts association, as well as members of the community for whom the elevator has given access to the museum for the first time.
Here are three things to know about the elevator project and the museum.
1. The six-stop elevator will give barrier-free access to four floors of the Vilas-Rahr Mansion and two floors of exhibition galleries.
The opening of this six-stop elevator – four floors of the Vilas-Rahr Mansion and two floors of the connected exhibition galleries – is decades in the making, with previous attempts hampered by architectural and financial limitations.
The addition will also allow for future renovation of the mansion to expand visitor access.
As part of the renovation, the mansion’s second floor underwent a complete redesign and is again open to the public.
“The addition of this elevator is nothing short of transformative,” said the museum’s executive director, Greg Vadney, in a news release. “It allows us to fulfill our goal of bringing more people more access to more of our collection.”
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2. The $1.3 million, multi-year project establishes the museum ‘as a fully accessible facility.’
The renovation cost $1.3 million. This is the final of many attempts by the museum and the city to add accessibility features to the 1893 Queen Anne-style Victorian Mansion since it opened in 1950 as the Rahr Museum and Civic Center.
“The elevator renovation establishes the Rahr-West Art Museum as a fully accessible facility,” Vadney said.
The multi-year project was spearheaded by Rahr-West Art Museum staff and board and funded through a Federal Community Development Block Grant administered through the State of Wisconsin, supplemented with support from the City of Manitowoc.
Renovation design was provided by Somerville Architects of Green Bay and project construction through Mike Koenig Construction of Sheboygan.
3. The museum is home to works by O’Keeffe, Warhol, Picasso and others.
Recognized among the country’s top small-town museums, the Rahr-West — a City of Manitowoc department — boasts artwork from Georgia O’Keeffe, Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso and others.
The mansion is also a National Register of Historic Places site and the museum is the crash site of a piece of the Sputnik IV spacecraft.
The museum and art galleries are open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays. Admission is free.
For more details, contact the Rahr-West Art Museum at 920-686-3090 or visit our website rahrwestartmuseum.org.
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Contact Brandon Reid at 920-686-2984 or breid@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @breidHTRNews.
This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Manitowoc art museum Rahr-West opens elevator; home to Warhol, Picasso
