“What would a city say if it could speak?” asked O. Henry in this 1908 short story, The Voice of the City. What would Greensboro and Guilford County say about the area’s heritage – its people, the land and their stories?
Through a comprehensive revitalization our visitors will discover new interpretations for more than 300 years of local history. Organized using chronology, the exhibit will share the aspirations and realities of a community shaped by people of diverse backgrounds and perspectives. First person narratives will amplify and relay personal stories and experiences. Sometimes the voices shared in the exhibit will echo beyond the boundaries of Greensboro, but the voices are ours, from Native Americans to recent refugees, from captains of industry to common folk.
Greensboro’s story will be presented in a series of galleries, each conveying the powerful stories of selected time periods.
Before Greensboro (Prehistory – 1807)
Tools and weapons surviving from generations of Native Americans will introduce visitors to the first people of the Piedmont. Germans, Scotch-Irish, Quakers and Africans will provide insights into life during the 1700s. The Battle of Guilford Courthouse will illustrate the drama of the Revolutionary War when neighbors confront neighbors as well as British soldiers.
Early Years (1808- 1890)
From its founding in 1808 the town of Greensboro depends on its nearby farms and small businesses. Through the years it adds churches and educational institutions, and residents find creative ways to have fun.
Debating Liberty (1800-1877)
This gallery looks at the powerful stories surrounding the Civil War including slavery, wartime experiences, and Reconstruction through the voices of both well-known and little-heard Greensboro residents. Accounts of resisting slavery, soldier hardships and trials at home will create a provocative look at this complex time.
Denim Capitol (1890 – 1945)
The coming of the railroad and the hum of textile looms begin to power the city’s economy and change the landscape. Buildings, neighborhoods, entrepreneurs and residents of all ages make Greensboro an exciting place to live and work. One little boy hometown folks know as Will Porter finds fame as the author O. Henry. A few decades later hundreds of thousands of men and women come to the city’s Army Air Force Base during World War II.
Military Service (War of 1812 – Iraq/Afghanistan)
Military history has been a strong focus of collections and exhibits since the museum’s founding in 1924. This area will feature representative stories from three centuries and use technology to include additional veteran stories and object images.
Changing Times (1946 – 1979)
This gallery illustrates events that change Greensboro and the nation. A 1948 polio epidemic brings people together to face a major health threat. The 1960 sit-ins stand out, and so do other efforts by citizens and public servants work to end the years of Jim Crow segregation. Greensboro’s role as a center for higher education is recognized, as are the contributions of local television and radio.
Today’s Gate City (1980 – today)
Seeing ourselves in the recent past and looking forward offers compelling stories in a gallery which spotlights business history, neighborhoods, newcomers, and community spirit. Varied perspectives will give each visitor a chance to consider their connection to and impressions of Greensboro.
COMMUNITY SURVEY
To ensure the new exhibition reflects the interests of today’s residents, the museum conducted a survey reaching 1,100
respondents and made presentations to 2,100 people throughout the city. Churches, civic groups, professional organizations, and university scholars were called upon for their viewpoints about people and events who have influenced Greensboro’s story.
REVIEW COMMITTEES
Additional guidance about the exhibition and building preservation has been offered by committees including:
COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE
A Community Advisory Committee was established in 2000 to hear from local citizens about ways and means to reach residents and potential audiences as well as provide recommendations for museum programs and exhibits.
2008 Members
• Dr. Millicent Brown, Committee Chair, Associate Professor of History, NCA&TSU
• Dr. James Woods, Associate Professor of History, NCA&TSU
• Bernard V. Franko, Financial Consultant
• Terrence Muhammad, Community Activist
• Ron Pittman, Human Resources Professional, Greensboro Historical Museum, Inc. Trustee
• Jay Kirkpatrick, Financial Consultant
• Susan Schwartz, Director of the CEMALA Foundation
• Betty Gale Sikes, Community Volunteer
• Emerson Spivey, Community Volunteer and Greensboro Historical Museum, Inc. Trustee
• Jim Kee, Business Owner and Community Activist
EDUCATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Representatives from public and private schools serving primary grades to high school offer
advice and support for the Museum Education Department. Members offer feedback on
museum tours and outreach programs to ensure they meet the needs of classroom teachers
and help with publicity efforts.
• Betty K. Phipps, Chair, City of Greensboro, Curator of Education, Greensboro Historical Museum
• Jonathan McRae, Social Studies Specialist, Guilford County Schools
• Jim Carson, Kernodle Middle
• Lee Roane, Greensboro Day
• Ratna Sarin, Jefferson Elementary
• Jane Hansen, Hunter Elementary
• Ann Pember, retired, Smith High School
SCHOLAR REVIEW COMMITTEE
During the past three years museum staff met with 21 historians and scholars representing nine universities to discuss their areas of expertise and/or review the exhibition’s interpretive content. Eight historians have provided written comments on exhibition drafts and additional feedback will be solicited as the project progresses.
• Linda Evans, Chair, City of Greensboro, Community Historian, Greensboro Historical Museum
• Dr. Catherine Allgor, Professor of History, UC-Riverside
• Dr. Claude Barnes, Associate Professor of Political Science and Criminal Justice, NCA&TSU
• Dr. Josephine Boyd Bradley, Assistant Professor, Coordinator Africana Women’s Studies,
Clark Atlanta University
• Dr. Millicent Brown, Associate Professor of History, NCA&TSU
• Dr. Robert Calhoon, Professor of History, UNCG
• Dr. Peter Coclanis, Associate Provost for International Affairs, Albert R. Newsom Professor
of History, UNC-Chapel Hill
• Jack Davidson, Independent Scholar
• Carol Deaton, Social Studies Pedagogy Instructor, Greensboro College
• Dr. Keith Debbage, Professor of Geography, UNCG
• Dr. Clyde Ellis, Professor of History, Elon University
• Dr. Michele Gillespie, Associate Provost for Academic Initiatives, Kahle Family Associate
Professor of History, Wake Forest University
• Dr. David Goldfield, Robert Lee Bailey Professor of History, UNC-Charlotte
• Dr. Tom Hanchett, Levine Museum of the New South
• Dr. William Link, then-Lucy Spinks Keker Excellence Professor and Chair, Department
of History, UNCG
• Tom Magnuson, Executive Director, Trading Path Association
• Dr. Waldo Martin, Professor of History, UC-Berkeley
• Dr. Joseph Mountjoy, Professor of Anthropology, UNCG
• Dr. Darlene Roth, Darlene Roth & Associates
• Dr. Bryant Simon, Professor of History and Director of American Studies, Temple University
• Walter Turner, Historian, North Carolina Transportation Museum
• Dr. James Woods, Associate Professor of History, NCA&TSU
RENOVATIONS TO THE HISTORIC MUSEUM BUILDING
The oldest sections of the museum building, National Register properties built in 1892, 1903, and 1938, require attention for their long-term preservation. Several major building preservation projects will begin before the new exhibition is installed. This work, funded through the November 2006 bond approved by Greensboro voters, involves repair and replacement of the slate roof, building trim, gutters, and original wooden windows.
The Historic Preservation Review Committee was created in 2007 to provide advice and recommendations for bond-funded projects. Guided by Secretary of Interior Standards and the desire to care for one of Greensboro’s oldest public buildings, the committee includes:
HISTORIC PRESERVATION REVIEW COMMITTEE
• Fred Goss, Chair, City of Greensboro, Director, Greensboro Historical Museum
• Benjamin Briggs, Preservation Greensboro Incorporated, Blandwood
• Mike Cowhig, City of Greensboro, Department of Housing and Community Development
• Mark Ethun, Architect, Teague Freyaldenhoven Freyaldenhoven Architects & Planners, LLP
• Stefan-leih Geary, City of Greensboro, Department of Housing and Community Development
• Jo Leimenstoll, Architect and Professor of Interior Architecture, UNCG
• John Linn, Architect, John Joseph Linn Architecture, PLLC
• Ricky Pyrtle, City of Greensboro, Department of Engineering and Inspections
• Fred Ridge, City of Greensboro, Department of Engineering and Inspections
• Andrew Scott, City of Greensboro, Department of Housing and Community Development
• Jerome Williams, City of Greensboro, Department of Engineering and Inspections
• Jon Zachman, City of Greensboro, Curator of Collections, Greensboro Historical Museum
ABOUT THE ARCHITECTS AND DESIGN TEAM
The local firm of Teague Freyaldenhoven Freyaldenhoven Architects & Planners, LLP (TFF Architects) began its work by projecting the scope of architectural and engineering renovations needed for building restoration and exhibit installation. Partner Virginia Freyaldenhoven is managing all projects, including those funded by the City of Greensboro bond and those funded by the museum corporation’s capital campaign. TFF Architects will create plans for the modifications to the museum structure, the lighting design, updates to all electrical and mechanical systems and oversee all renovations of the 8,000 square foot space. They are working in close collaboration with City of Greensboro Engineer Reginald Lee, and have also brought in Engineered Concepts and Palma Engineering as project consultants.
Designing the exhibition is the national award-winning firm Eistherhold and Associates Inc. of Kansas City, Missouri, who was recently awarded by the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) for its Rosa Parks Children’s Annex at the Rosa L. Parks Museum. Under the leadership of Gerard Eisterhold, they continue to create compelling exhibits including the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis and the Jurassic Park Discovery Center in Orlando.
Teague Freyaldenhoven Freyaldenhoven Architects & Planners, LLP
Teague Freyaldenhoven Freyaldenhoven Architects & Planners, LLP (TFF Architects) is a Greensboro architectural firm with diverse experience in renovations, government/municipal facilities, educational facilities, healthcare, senior living housing, religious facilities, retail and corporate office design projects. Owners Walt Teague, AIA, Stephen Freyaldenhoven, AIA, and Virginia Freyaldenhoven, AIA have practiced architecture in the Piedmont Triad area for over fifteen years. Each of their projects are designed, managed and administered by the Principal Architects to ensure consistent, high quality design and client satisfaction.
Virginia Freyaldenhoven, AIA has been a partner with the firm of TFF Architects since its establishment in 1996. Mrs. Freyaldenhoven is a graduate of Virginia Tech and worked in New York before relocating to North Carolina in 1989. Her experience includes large and small scale new construction projects as well as renovations and historic preservation projects. Project types include educational, institutional, and commercial.
Mark Ethun has been with TFF Architects since 2007 after relocating to Greensboro from Madison Wisconsin. He received his BS of Architectural Studies and his Master of Architecture degrees from the University of Illinois. His area of specialty is historic preservation.
Eisterhold Associates, Incorporated
Eisterhold and Associates, Incorporated (EAI), specializes in the planning and design of exceptional interpretive experiences, particularly in cultural and historical subject matters. EAI offers its clients a unique structure that provides principal-level talent and capability in all fields. CEO Gerard Eisterhold serves as Creative Director for all projects. He is supported by Vice President Ben Lawless, Director of Exhibitions for the Smithsonian from 1958-1981; a nationwide group of Associates, and a full-time staff Kansas City. EAI is best known for its design of the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis and the Jurassic Park Discovery Center in Orlando.
Gerard Eisterhold, founder and president, serves a most significant role as creative director. Since its inception, one of the guiding tenets of the firm has been to manage the workload in a way that allows its founder to be at the center of the action and to guide creative development in virtually every instance. Eisterhold excels in his ability to conceptualize exhibit ideas and to carry them through the entire process. His training and background as a designer, his wide-ranging knowledge of techniques and technologies and his experience with program and content development enables him to grasp the parameters of a project and envision its potential.
Benjamin Lawless, Vice President, is a renowned designer, exhibit planner and scriptwriter. His twenty years as director of exhibits for the Smithsonian Institution were spent leading the planning and design of hundreds of exhibits viewed by millions of visitors. He has collaborated on 20+ film and television projects, winning national awards for his work. Lawless has played a major creative role on nearly two dozen projects with Eisterhold Associates.
Bill Ruggeri is involved in all phases of exhibition design and planning: conceptual design, team management, detail design, and production supervision. His many years of design management allow him to provide an accurate, pragmatic assessment of design solutions, budgets, and strategies. Ruggeri attended the University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture and Art. A member of the Pantone Color Institute’s advisory board, he has also served on the Parsons School of Design faculty and been a Juror for Industrial Design magazine competitions.
Charles Brown, interactive systems designer, studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and offers seventeen years of technical experience in interactive systems designed specifically for interpretive environments. A former vice president with the New England Technology Group, Mr. Brown has collaborated in EAI projects since 1988. His signature is his ability to develop high-impact solutions outside the constraints of off-the-shelf systems, and his expertise includes software capabilities in system coordination, as well as the hardware skills needed to interface nearly any electronic component into a functioning system.
Krista Williamson serves as project manager handling the day-to-day project details. Before joining EAI, Ms. Williamson had 15 years of experience with an exhibit fabricator, designing both permanent and changing exhibits and responsible for overseeing projects through all phases from concept through implementation.
Leigh Rosser’s role at EAI includes exhibit element design, interaction design, media integration, and space planning. He plays a lead role in creation of 3D renderings and production of construction documents.
FUNDRAISING COMMITTEE
The Greensboro Historical Museum, Inc. Capital Campaign is co chaired by Jim and Anita Schneck. The campaign currently has $2,177,818 million in pledges, far exceeding its goal of $1.6 million. Campaign committee members include:
• Pat Austin Sevier
• John Forbis
• Jim Kirkpatrick
• Bill Latture
• Ned Cline
• Fred Jones
• Jim Slaughter and
• Bill Snyder
PROJECT BUDGET
City of Greensboro Bond Funding: $5.3 million contributed
$1.8 million for Building Restoration— includes repair and replacement of the slate roof, building trim, gutters, and original wooden windows
$3.5 for the Exhibit Renovation—includes exhibit design and construction
Private Funds | Phase I of the Exhibition Renovation
The Welcome to the Gate City exhibition, which opened in October of 2006, $626,757
Private Funds | Phase II of the Exhibition Renovation
Remaining 8,000 square foot renovation: $1,551,061—includes visitor interactives, public programs, and artifact acquisition and conservation
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
When will the exhibit open?
The first phase of the exhibit, Welcome to the Gate City, opened in October of 2006. Based on the current project schedule provided by the City of Greensboro, the remaining 8,000 square foot exhibition will open in 2010.
Why is the exhibit opening in 2010 rather than 2008?
Big projects sometimes take longer than expected, and that has been the case for this exhibition.
Care has also been taken to:
• Research the exhibition to create an interpretation well-grounded in current scholarship
• Take the time needed for cost-effective design that will take advantage of new technologies
• Share information and get community feedback
• Provide for renovations that meet historic preservation guidelines
• Hire an exhibition firm
How will the new exhibition differ from the current exhibits?
Museum exhibitions strive to reflect the museum’s mission and benefit from broad community input. The current permanent exhibitions, some of them dating to the 1970s, are organized by themes.
• The museum’s new exhibition takes a chronological approach and will show in a more obvious way how Greensboro has changed over time. This approach will make it easier for visitors to connect Greensboro’s history to the larger United States story
• The new exhibition will include more interactive components to meet different learning styles. Some will be simple hands-on activities, and others will use computer technology.
• New public programs will add to what can be seen on exhibit. They will be planned to fulfill the museum’s desire to build community through history, to audiences of all ages and many interests.
Who is the project manager?
Reginald Lee, City of Greensboro, Coordinator of Construction Projects, Department of Engineering and Inspections
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