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Managing Editor SPRINGFIELD In the basement storage area of the Connecticut Valley Historical Museum sits an artifact that the public would probably never have the chance to see until now. Thanks to a bequest of $1 million from the late Allan Swift of West Hartford, Conn. the Springfield Museums recently announced plans to acquire the Verizon building at the corner of Chestnut and Edward Streets to be used as a Springfield history museum. Besides the gift that will enable the purchase of the building, Swift also gave the Museums his mint-condition 1928 Rolls Royce, which was made in Springfield. Springfield Museums President Joseph Carvalho predicted the car would be a centerpiece for the new museum. Carvalho and Connecticut Valley Historical Museum Director Guy McLain explained to Reminder Publications that the new museum will highlight the history and accomplishments of the city from the Civil War era to the present and would provide an exhibition venue for artifacts that have never been seen. McLain was enthusiastic about the opportunity of displaying the 19th Century horse-drawn, hand pump fire engine that is in the basement of the Connecticut Valley Historical Museum. He said that the fire engine had been disassembled, brought down the stairs and then re-assembled for storage. Carvalho said that he and other staff members have been speaking to each other for years about presenting more of Springfield's history, but there was no building with a space large enough to show the scope of the history. He said that, in the past, the suggestions were made to buy and renovate the building on State Street that houses the School Department or to build a new building on the lawn area that borders Edwards Street. Both proposals were cost prohibitive. Carvalho had met Swift through other antique car collectors and Swift said that he would consider giving the museum his vintage Rolls if the museum had an adequate place to display it. Last summer, Carvalho learned the Verizon building was for sale, and after speaking with Swift, he made the decision to donate the funding and his car to the Museums. Swift died at age 102 in October. Once the Museums purchase the building in June, the staff will undertake a fund-raising drive to help renovate the building and provide an endowment for it. Carvalho envisions the new museum as "a great attraction." Springfield's contributions in transportation the birthplace of the American automotive and motorcycle industries, the only American site where Rolls Royces were manufactured, the location where the revolutionary GeeBee aircraft were invented are still of great interest to many car, motorcycle and aviation buffs. McLain said that Springfield was known for innovations, and the new museum will be build exhibits around those "firsts." Carvalho and McLain predicted that, once people know the museum will be the home of Springfield artifacts, there will be an increased flow of donations from attics, basements and garages. Carvalho noted that many people donated items with the opening of the Museum historical archives. In 1983 when the archives were opened there were about 3,000 documents. People began donating and now there are three million documents. The two men also predicted the new museum would add another attraction to the city for tourists and provide a key educational component for area students. For Carvalho, though, the finished museum would show that Springfield contributed some of the key "building blocks that made America what it is." "There was magic in this community and I say it's still there," he added. | ||||||
