Key West Extension Drawings: Assessment and Conservation Training
FAIN: PG-51218-11
Henry Morrison Flagler Museum (Palm Beach, FL 33480-0969)
Tracy Kamerer (Project Director: May 2010 to March 2012)
A preservation assessment of and staff training to care for 1,292 rolled drawings documenting the construction of the Key West Extension of the Over-Sea Railroad (1904-12), an engineering feat that involved laying 156 miles of track from Miami to Key West with 42 bridges connecting more than 100 islands. Playing an essential role in the history of Florida's agricultural and tourist industries, the railway developed by Henry Flagler is the focus of educational and public programming, as well as scholarly publications.
The Flagler Museum's project will address a portion of its extensive Key West Extension Collection. The KWE required substantial engineering and technical innovations documented by the rolled drawings that are this project's focus. Primarily dating from the period of construction (1904-1912), these drawings have never been surveyed or treated. A highly qualified Paper Conservation Consultant will examine current environmental/storage conditions for the KWE drawings, make recommendations for their long-term archival storage, review a representative selection of 25 drawings with Museum Staff, provide instruction on how to conduct a condition analysis, and prioritize drawings most in need of treatment. The conservator will also train Museum Staff to carry out basic conservation treatments for the drawings, including cleaning, flattening, and repairs. The project's goal is to begin the process of making accessible 1,300 drawings previously unavailable for research and display.
Media Coverage
Flagler Museum Receives Two Grants to Conserve Over-Sea Railroad Drawings (Media Coverage)
Publication: Art & Culture of Palm Beach County
Date: 4/15/2011
Abstract: Announcement of grant awards from NEH and the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation. Located in Cultural Compendium Section of the Spring 2011 magazine, page 68.
URL: http://www.palmbeachculture.com/acmagazine
Flagler to Unfurl RR Plans (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Jan Sjostrom
Publication: Palm Beach Daily News
Date: 1/24/2011
Abstract: Front page article regarding grant awards from NEH and the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation
URL: http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/flagler-museum-to-refurbish-long-stored-over-sea-1204905.html?showComments=true
Flagler Museum Receives Grants to Conserve Over-Sea Railroad Drawings (Media Coverage)
Publication: South Florida Sun-Sentinel/Society Palm Beach
Date: 1/12/2011
Abstract: Announcement of grant awards from NEH and the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation.
Unrolling Over-Sea Railroad History (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Jan Sjostrom
Publication: Palm Beach Daily News
Date: 5/20/2011
Abstract: Front page article (with photos) that details the training and assessment project funded by the NEH grant, including a description of the various treatment and cleaning processes used.
URL: http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/arts/flagler-museum-unwraps-over-sea-railroad-construction-papers-1486113.html?showComments=true
Flagler Museum Gets Grants to Preserve History (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Gary Widom
Publication: WPEC-CBS 12 New "Good Morning South Florida"
Date: 1/18/2011
Abstract: Local morning news reporter Gary Widom visits the Flagler Museum to discuss the two grant awards from NEH and the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation and the conservation training and assessment project they will support. Includes footage of documents and Henry Flagler's private railcar, displayed at the Museum.
URL: http://www.cbs12.com/video/v/753346878001/wpec-localnews
Surveying the Museum's Collections (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Flagler Museum Public Affairs Staff
Publication: Inside Whitehall, Fall 2011
Date: 9/1/2011
Abstract: Article in Museum's quarterly Member Magazine discusses the conservation training and assessment project funded by NEH and the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation. Includes photos of the funded project in progress.