Renovation of 5,800 square feet of gallery space to meet contemporary museum standards.

FAIN: CHA-284402-23

Adirondack Museum (Blue Mountain Lake, NY 12812-7734)
David M. Kahn (Project Director: May 2021 to October 2025)

Safety, mechanical, and electrical upgrades in the main building of the Adirondack Historical Association, New York, to support the new permanent exhibition Artists & Inspiration in the Wild, scheduled to open in 2023. 

The Adirondack Historical Association proposes to renovate the oldest gallery building on its campus to serve as a new permanent home for its outstanding fine and decorative arts collections. A central premise of the exhibition that will be installed in the space is that 19th-century depictions of the Adirondacks not only introduced the region to Americans but helped shape their notions of wilderness and national identity. As noted by environmentalist Bill McKibben, these images included what were in all probability the first photographs that exposed Americans to the destruction of our forests. Implementation of the project represents the top institutional priority in the museum’s current Long-term Plan. It will also fulfill recommendations from four key planning documents that have informed the plan: an Exhibition Master Plan and a Long-range Preservation Plan, both completed in 2014; a 2015 Climate Control System Assessment; and a 2018 Facilities Master Plan.