Old School House renovations almost finished
Dennis R.J. Geppert/The Holland Sentinel
Saugatuck/Douglas Historical Society Old School House Renovation Task Force from left, Tom Anthrop, Dottie Lyon, and John Peters excited about the progress to the renovation of the Old School House on Center Street in Douglas.
By STEVE RALPH
The Holland Sentinel
Posted Jun 05, 2008 @ 07:45 AM
Last update Jun 05, 2008 @ 07:47 AM
Douglas, MI -
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Timeline
of the Old School House: |
After years
of planning and work, renovations of the Old School House in Douglas into a
discovery center are nearly compete.
Douglas Union School, 130 Center St., was purchased by the Saugatuck-Douglas
Historical Society two years ago with plans to convert the four-room building
- built in 1886
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into a community and visitor center featuring an exhibition gallery, research
and technical center, upper-story office rentals and a back-in-time garden
pathway on the school's 1.16-acre grounds.
With about $350,000 of the project's original $1.5 million budget yet to be
raised, the historical society hopes to have the building's front entrance,
main level and most of the front landscaping completed by late July or early
August, said Dottie Lyon, chairwoman of the society's Old School House Task
Force.
Construction timetables are determined in part by the availability of
contractors, many of whom are donating time and/or materials for the project,
said Tom Anthrop, the committee's construction coordinator.
"We don't have enough funds to finish off the other two levels at this point,"
he said.
"We're trying to use local contractors. Bill Haveman
has provided a lot of free services for the museum. I can't tell you the
number of hours they're giving us," Anthrop said of the Holland-based
Haveman Electrical Services, adding that many of
the subcontractors are supplying materials at cost.
"Our architect has been working free for a year. He's been working so hard for
us," said Lyon of Nicolaas Wilkens of Douglas-based
Fenn's Design Mill.
The structure will be a U.S. Green Building Council LEED-certified building,
Anthrop said.
Torn-out materials are being recycled or reused, and the refurbished building
will feature lighting with motion and light-level sensors. Wood from dead
trees in the back will be fashioned by artist Marsha Perry into furniture for
the center.
The main floor will include a welcome center; a library/research room with
historical hardcover books and public resource computers for historical and
genealogical research; an exhibit hall and an
office for the society's administrator.
The upper level will consist of two 840-square-foot office suites for rent.
The basement will house society archives, a technical room for use by society
researchers and a sound studio for recording oral histories.
An elevator and a brick wheelchair ramp will make the entire facility
accessible.
The garden path will feature story stations including a historic
peach-tree orchard, a restored 1860s-vintage
ironclad lifesaving boat, a display of the school house's history, and an
exhibit on Mount Baldhead, from a vantage point where visitors can see the
dune.
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Fundraiser and friends |
"The fun
thing for me is that we've had so much community support, from $20 bills to
$420,000" Lyon said. "So many moms and pops come out and say, 'We want you to
preserve this building.'"
For more information, visit
www.sdhistoricalsociety.org