Museum Begins $544,000 Improvement Project

The museum's research and volunteer work area was moved from the first floor, by the entrance, to the second floor, to provide more exhibit space on the first floor. New computers and workstations will be added to this area for use by volunteers and the public (by appointment).

The Champaign County Historical Society (CCHS) is making substantial improvements to its museum at 809 East Lawn Ave., Urbana, with the support of an Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) grant of $474,243 and $70,000 raised in the society’s capital fundraising campaign.
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Entry doors and windows are already being restored on the north end of the building, facing East Lawn Avenue, which will enhance the exterior appearance of the museum. The doors and windows are expected to be reinstalled before the end of November.

Many improvements will be made inside the museum, including the first-floor collection galleries and the second-floor work, research and meeting space.

“With these improvements we’re turning a corner,” CCHS Executive Director Cheryl Ogden says. “We’re not just a repository of historical artifacts, but a place where people can learn about our history.”

New display cases will begin arriving mid-November, and the collection galleries will be repainted and get new carpet.

The new cases are designed to exhibit at least 50 percent more artifacts than the museum’s current display cases, in the same amount of floor space, Ogden says. And they will provide visitors a better view of the museum’s collection. Updated interpretive exhibit signage will also enhance visitors’ experience.

Earlier this year, in preparation for the improvements, the museum’s research and volunteer work area was moved from the first floor, by the entrance, to the second floor. This provides more exhibit space on the first floor.

Electrical work upstairs will accommodate new computers and workstations, where volunteers and the public (by appointment) will conduct research. The work area will also include a new copier and printer, which, among other tasks, will be used to create new interpretive panels for exhibits.

The second-floor area will also be available for meetings and programs.

Several changes will be made to the layout of the museum’s first floor:

• A new reception desk will be installed at the entrance, with a gift shop
• The museum’s Woodstock Post Office exhibit will be moved to the front of the museum, by the gift shop
• The agricultural history section, now in the addition on the east side of the museum, opposite the entrance, will be moved to the area now occupied by the post office
• The current agricultural space will be developed into a “small town” scape that will bring together a variety of existing exhibits related to small-town life, such as the bankers window, tin smith shop, grocery store, switchboard, theater seating, jewelry repair shop, an antique car, a display of railroads in the county, and horse buggies displayed in front of historical photo murals of Mechanicsburg, St. Paris and Urbana, where the buggies were manufactured
  
  

“These improvements have been made possible by the generosity of individuals, families and businesses who have supported our capital improvements campaign and the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC), through their cultural facilities grants program,” says Terry Koster, president of the CCHS Board of Trustees. “We also are grateful for the continuing support of the Champaign County Board of Commissioners.”

The OFCC oversees capital improvement funds appropriated by the General Assembly for planning, construction, renovation and expansion projects at Ohio's theaters, museums, arts education facilities, historical sites, and publicly-owned professional sports venues.