Friday, October 31, 2014

New coats of paint on Lumber Baron's Mansion are first of upgrades at Michigan Historical Museum

at Michigan Historical Museum

The staff of the Michigan Historical Center recently unveiled the newly refurbished building façade based on Muskegon's Hackley House as the kickoff to a series of upgrades and renovations that are planned for the long-term exhibits of the Michigan Historical Museum in downtown Lansing.

John H. McGarry III, chief executive officer of the Lakeshore Museum Center in Muskegon, and Dani LaFleur, historic sites curator for the Lakeshore Museum Center, visited the Michigan Historical Center last week to see the newly restored house. The large façade of the house greets visitors in the Michigan Historical Museum's Lumbering Era gallery. Since 1989 it had been painted yellow with brown trim, which was once thought to be the original color scheme of Muskegon's Hackley House. Since then, research done by the Lakeshore Museum Center has shown that the house had a 13-color exterior paint scheme in the Victorian "painted lady" style. The house in Muskegon was restored to this paint scheme several years ago, prompting staff at the Michigan Historical Center to repaint the museum's representation of the house.

In May, operations staff from the Michigan Historical Center visited the Hackley House to obtain research and information on the original paint scheme for the house. The house façade at the museum is not an exact replica, so museum staff had to carefully compare the paint used to what could be used on the museum's representation. Repainting the façade took place this summer and was completed in time for fall school group tours.

McGarry praised the work of the museum staff, saying they did "a very, very good job" replicating the paint scheme on the Hackley House. He also gave museum staff information regarding the research his museum has done and how it can benefit future upgrades to the exhibit. He said research done in the late 1980s on the Hackley House revealed 19 layers of paint, and that the yellow and brown colors were likely the primer coats for the exterior of the house.

When the Michigan Historical Museum was under construction in the late 1980s, the Hackley House was chosen to represent the era of Michigan lumber baron mansions. "The Hackley House is an impressive example of Gilded Age decorative arts," McGarry said."

Repainting the house is the start of an ongoing project to refresh our 25-year-old exhibits," said Sandra Clark, director of the Michigan Historical Center. "I want to thank Lakeshore Museum Center and their staff for their assistance with this project, and for the information John McGarry provided to us about the workmen who built the Hackley House. We plan to incorporate their stories in our exhibit in the future."

A grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation is supporting much of the planned work on the exhibits, and the Michigan History Foundation is currently seeking funds to complete the project.

Visitors to the Michigan Historical Museum can see the Lumbering Era exhibit on the second floor of the museum. For more information on visiting the museum, go to www.michigan.gov/museum. For information on visiting the Hackley House in Muskegon, go to www.lakeshoremuseum.org.

The Michigan Historical Museum and visitor parking are on the north side of Kalamazoo Street, two blocks east of M. L. King Jr. Boulevard. Weekend parking is free.

The Michigan Historical Center is part of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Its museum and archival programs help people discover, enjoy and find inspiration in their heritage. It includes the Michigan Historical Museum, 10 regional museums, Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve, and the Archives of Michigan. Learn more at www.michigan.gov/michiganhistory.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state's natural and cultural resources for current and future generations. For more information, go to www.michigan.gov/dnr.


Contact: Sandra Clark, 517-373-6362 or
John H. McGarry III (Lakeshore Museum Center), 231-722-0278