GRAPEVINE — Park Place dealership has donated $25,000 to the Grapevine Historical Society for its planned museum. The museum, which will be built at 206 West Hudgins Street, is scheduled to open in the fall.
The check was presented Jan. 28 at the Grapevine Public Library, where the museum society feasted on a birthday cake to celebrate its 40-year anniversary.The Grapevine Historical Society was asked to work with the city to create a new and larger museum to display area artifacts. The all volunteer organization has already raised $138,000.“They have done an awesome job raising some money,” Mayor William D. Tate said at a recent council meeting. The volunteers are involved in historic preservation, not fund raising, so "when they were asked to raise some money, it made them kind of pause for a minute. But they didn't say ‘No, I can't.’ They said, ‘Yes I can,"’ Tate said.Tate said their efforts will allow for the creation of a "Smithsonian quality presentation of the artifacts."When it is finished, the new museum will resemble the former Grapevine Ice Company."We wanted our museum to mirror the look of the well-known Grapevine site," said David Klempin, the city's historic preservation officer and manager.The building is more than 3,000 square feet, allowing for more organization, possibly with rotating exhibits.Carolyn Ernst, the historical society's president, said work on the museum is expected to begin this month.More than 100 families, individuals, organizations and businesses have donated to the project, she said.Other funding is coming from the Convention & Visitors Bureau. The city has allocated more than $300,000 to remodel the building by reproducing the old Ice House facade and roof line, gutting the interior and installing new utility lines.Klempin said he is excited about the historic look planned for the museum, which will evoke fond memories of the ice company. He said they spent countless hours researching the old business so that the new site is as close to the original as possible.Once the museum is completed, the front of the building will have the look of the ice house building from the mid-century, when the company was owned by Wade C. Cummings.According to a brief history written by Cummings, the ice house was built by Earl Copeland in 1940. Cummings, who was an engineer during its construction, purchased the ice company in 1946 and operated the business until it was sold in 1967 to Dr. Ira Woods, then mayor of Grapevine. Operation of the plant was discontinued in the early 1970s.Klempin said the new museum site -- a vacant city-owned building one block off of Main Street -- and the old ice house are a perfect fit."The Ice House and our building virtually have the same dimensions," Klempin said.The society's museum will be moving from a crowded 900-square-foot space in the historic train depot to more than triple the space in its new building.The additional space will allow for more items to be displayed in a better arrangement, according to society members.The society has been raising money to help pay for its portion of the costs. Ernst said fundraising has included a gala, a sock hop and a golf tournament.She said as building construction gets closer, "people will be more willing to give because they will be able to see that we are moving forward with a first-class museum."The society's wish list includes money to restore and clean museum items, new display cases for items that are in storage, new signage for the items in the collection and special packaging for other items that will remain in storage. Volunteers are helping with some of the restoration work.The new museum space will allow for the display of more artifacts, members say. A display of firefighting equipment sits in the same case as dishes. Another glass case holds military memorabilia from different wars while a manikin wearing a military uniform is on the opposite side of the one-room museum."Right now we have what we call a grandma's attic," Ernst said. "Our new museum would not be a hodgepodge of artifacts, but a place that tells the story of Grapevine and its people."More than 24,000 people visited the museum last year. Museum supporters said they get visitors from all over the country and world, thanks in part to people who are making a quick stop during layovers at D/FW Airport.Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
