Rogers Historical Museum officials started developing plans for an expansion in 2005, but as the years went by, executing the plan became more and more difficult, said John Burroughs, museum director.
Feasibility studies, preliminary building plans and designs for gallery space were completed, Burroughs said. A fundraising campaign was started, stopped and started again, he said. The downturn in the economy wreaked havoc on the plans, he said.
Rogers Historical Museum
Rogers Historical Museum at 322 S. Second St. is open seven days a week.
• Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
• Tuesday: 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
• Sunday: 1 p.m.-5 p.m.
Source: Staff report
The cost of expansion rose each year, Burroughs said. The timeline for expanding was pushed further into the future as the costs continued to increase, he said.
"It would cost $11 million to build a new building if we started construction this year," Burroughs said. "The cost goes up every year."
The museum has raised $500,000 for the expansion, Burroughs said. The museum could receive an additional $500,000 from the National Endowment for Humanities if it raises another $1 million by the end of 2016, he said.
The museum is considered a department of the City of Rogers and is funded by tax dollars.
A bond referendum could have been the only option for funding the expansion, Burroughs said. This would have included asking voters to raise taxes to support the bond.
"A bond issue is not a certain thing and that would be four to five years away," Burroughs said.
The future of the museum changed almost overnight when the city contracted to purchase the former Rogers Morning News building on June 23 for $729,900. The newspaper building sits at 313 S. Second St., across the street from the museum. The 14,230-square-foot building is expected to accommodate gallery space already designed for the expansion, Burroughs said.
The Rogers City Council will have to approve funding for the purchase of the building before the contract can close. Northwest Arkansas Newspapers, the building owner, also will have to relocate employees still working in the building.
If the purchase goes through, the museum will move all gallery space to the former newspaper building, Burroughs said. The museum's current facility will be transformed into an education center and another city-owned building at 300 W. Poplar St. will be used for collections.
The total cost for purchasing the newspaper building, renovating the three buildings and constructing the exhibitions could be about $5.5 million, Burroughs said.
"This means that we could start the process much sooner than later," Burroughs said. "It is a lower price, but we are not losing impact."
The lower cost of the project should make it easier for donors to get behind it, Burroughs said. They will see an end in sight, he said.
The museum opened 40 years ago on Oct. 25, 1975. It rented space in a former bank building at the time. It has since grown to a 40,000 artifact collection with 2,760 square feet of exhibition space. The museum's current location was opened in 1986.
Artifacts displayed tell the story of Rogers and Benton County history.
About 800 people visit the museum monthly, said Terrilyn Wendling, museum assistant director. Visitors include people from around the country.
Burroughs said museum officials also do presentations for about 16,000 students in classrooms across northwest Arkansas each year. Another 4,000 adults take part in classes annually.
The museum doesn't have the space to bring students to the museum for education and field trips, Burroughs said. An expansion would allow the museum to do this, he said.
"We will be able to accommodate 150 kids or more at a time," Burroughs said. "That is where the trend is going. We are getting more and more requests for large field trips."
A large portion of the museum's artifacts are in storage because of lack of space, Burroughs said. This includes the original ticket window from the train station downtown, a cornerstone from the 1911 Rogers High School and a Springfield wagon used to farm land in Rogers.
James Hale, president of the Friends of the Rogers History Museum, has been volunteering at the museum for many years.
"They have thousands of artifacts about Rogers they can't display," Hale said. "It is just filled up. They are having to turn away donations because they don't have a place to put them."
The possible purchase of the former newspaper building is exciting for the museum and Rogers, Hale said.
Newt Hailey opened the building in 1948 as a Ford dealership. The building's curved walls and windows, now covered, are an architectural feature rare for the city. Surveys of the building have shown that the original facade is still under the stucco walls currently on the building.
"That is a very historical building," Hale said.
Hale said he once helped the museum build a model of the building for an exhibit several years ago.
Residents have been interested in restoring the building for some time, Hale said.
"If we can put the museum in there and restore that front back to 1948, it would be a real fascinating destination for the town," Hale said.
NW News on 07/05/2015