What Goes Up, Must be Filled

The construction gang continues to put roof trusses into place today, so I thought I'd address just what is going to be accomplished when the building is ready for public inspection. We hope to complete construction by late October or early November ... then the hard part of filling up the space begins.

For the past umpteen years, visitors to the Museum have entered through a chain-link fence gate in the back of Fort Walla Walla Park. That sort of fencing is wonderful for keeping people out, but not so great at welcoming people in. Some years back, when our perimeter fence was topped with barbed wire, the look was reminiscent of an artifact prison. Hmmm ... I think we can do better.

The new entrance building will have its own parking lot close by the front door. This will be a great boon to our older and physically challenged visitors. Further, while the current park road in no way resembles the roundabout near Arlington Park in Virginia, having our thousands of school kids disembark their busses where traffic moves is not the ideal plan. The parking lot has been designed to accomodate the turning radius of a school bus, so that kids may be delivered right to the front door; they will assemble indoors for the introductory orientation, as opposed to the outdoors-in-all-weather scenario we use now.

The look of the new building's entrance will appear like a blockhouse from 'fort days.' Upon entering, the experience will begin immediately, with displays to the right and left, as well as above. Inside, to the right, will be an orientation theater that provides some background into Walla Walla as "the cradle of northwest history" and a bit about the Museum a visitor is about to enter. This is planned to be a no-cost experience ... if a visitor wishes to tour the Museum, payment can be made opposite the theater at the Museum Store.

I'll tell you more about this in the next few sdays, time permitting. Today's photos show some of the ongoing construction, as well as the water truck that mitigates dust problems and allows for vehicle clean-up before the rigs travel on city streets. There's also architect Jim Stenkamp's rendering of the new Entrance.

A reminder that fund-raising is ongoing and your help is greatly appreciated. You can simply send a check earmarked for the project or do so online through our web site at www.fortwallawallaqmuseum.org. The past is ours to save!