The Onondaga Historical Association is planning a rehab of its museum in downtown Syracuse, courtesy of a state grant.
The OHA holds central New York's history at the old Bell Telephone Company on Montgomery Street. Built in 1906, the five-story building once housed the largest switchboard on the East Coast. Its thick walls and five stories leave something to be desired as the OHA tries to protect artifacts that are very sensitive. That's why OHA Executive Director Lisa Romano Moore says it’s important to improve the building's environment, with new air conditioning and humidity control.
"We have newspapers dating back to before the 1850s and they're very temperature sensitive," Moore said. "So it's interesting, the ones that were more on cloth, fiber kinds of materials actually are sustained better than the paper. So those are at risk of being lost forever and so environmental controls are hugely important for those materials."
The $3 million renovation also shakes up the office configuration, improves the research center, and creates a bigger community space. A new kitchen and more bathrooms will support community programming. Moore said the OHA is an integral part of Central New York.
"People that are looking for family history use us," Moore said. "Our municipal partners use us as they develop plans for the city. We have researchers, people like Ken Burns have used us."
Funding for the project comes from a state grant secured by Assemblyman Bill Magnarelli. Construction should start in the fall and be done in a year.
