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Cultural Facilities Grant For Safety and Access Improvements
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May 30, 2007
Thanks to a grant of $6,250 from the Cultural Facilities Coalition grant program of the State of Vermont administered by the Vermont Arts Council, and generous donors to the building restoration fund, the American Precision Museum is now a much safer place to work or attend a meeting in the library on the second floor.
The museum recently completed a safety and access project, which included removing a platform on the second floor that impeded access to the secondary means of exit from the building via the stair tower at the rear. The platform was initially installed when the building was used as a garage for large trucks before it became a museum in 1966. The platform project also included removing and then reinstalling more securely, a massive chain hoist suspended from the first floor ceiling that is used to bring large, heavy machine tools, the core of the museum’s collection, in and out of the building from the rear loading area. The stair tower was also made safer by the installation of handrails. All Seasons Construction of Springfield, Vermont completed the work under the guidance of preservation architect Tom Keefe of Middlebury, Vermont.
“We are extremely grateful to the Vermont legislature for supporting this grant program,” said the museum’s Executive Director, Ann Lawless. “The guidelines ensure that we follow high quality preservation standards, and that’s important because our building, the 1846 Robbins and Lawrence Armory, is a National Historic Landmark. There are remarkably few grant opportunities to help address safety issues. We are very appreciative of the legislature’s far-sightedness, and the Vermont Arts Council’s leadership in administering the program.”
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