News
Chief Sealth, The Traveling Fountain
We recently published a column in the January Renton Magazine about Renton's Chief Sealth fountain on Museum grounds, in which we traced its various movements around the city over the past 100 years. We promised a series of photos illustrating the fountain’s movements and here they are. (You can also see these in larger versions on the Museum's Facebook page.) At various times the fountain has been located at the old City Hall on Wells Street, at the intersection of Third and Main, on the south side of the Museum, and now finally on the north side of the Museum. “Iron Mike” demonstrates that change is a constant!
Museum Master Plan Complete in Mid-February!
Museum planning consultants Gyroscope Inc. are putting the final touches on the museum master plan designed to launch the Museum into its next decade of sustainable operations. The master plan incorporates a new strategic approach and exciting changes to the Museum building. Gyroscope will present the new plan to the Renton City Council and the public on Monday, Feb. 8 during the Committee of the Whole meeting in Council Chambers.
The Collection Is Moving
Dollies, padded blankets, foam, bungee cords, plastic wrap…and lots of heavy lifting! Since October, the Museum has been hard at work behind the scenes moving our collection to a new off-site storage location. The new building, dubbed the Annex, is bigger, more secure, and less leaky that the old storage site. Most of the objects have now been moved and the focus has shifted to organization and inventories. Thanks to 4Culture for helping us with the Annex renovations and the collection move!
Become a Facebook Fan of the Renton History Museum
The Museum continues its efforts to take advantage of social networking tools to get out the word about our exhibits, programs, and other services. In addition to "tweeting" on Twitter, the Renton History Museum now has a Facebook page where we will be posting photos, events, and other news. We'll answer your questions and lead discussions about local history. For the most up-to-date info on Museum happenings, join Facebook and become our fan!
Archived News Stories
Renton History Museum Welcomes Back Its Newly Reconstructed Coal Car
After eight months of research and hard work, the historic reconstruction of our coal car is complete! The project, funded by 4Culture, came to an end on August 26th when the coal car returned to Renton from the Conservation and Restoration Center of the Northwest Railway Museum in Snoqualmie. Renton History Museum staff and volunteers installed the coal car in the Museum's main gallery as an integral part of the When Coal Was King coal mining exhibit. Having been reconstructed and even correctly reengineered in some areas, the coal car now serves as a tangible reminder of Renton's coal mining roots.
The rescue of the coal car is the result of a constructive partnership between the Renton History Museum and the Northwest Railway Museum. When we discovered in late 2007 that our coal car had seriously deteriorated, we called upon the skills and knowledge of the NRM staff to help us return the car to its original shape. Thanks to grant funding, NRM staff was able to restore information about how coal cars were designed, built, and used in the mines by properly reconstructing its physical characteristics. You can revisit the progress of the project on the updates below, and see more photos at the Museum's Flickr album.
Read more about the project here:
January 25, 2008
February 11, 2008
February 25, 2008
March 10, 2008
March 14, 2008
April 8, 2008
May 20, 2008
May 30, 2008
June 2, 2008
July 16, 2008
Project Partners:
Grant Funding Provided By:
