Why are some buildings built? Why are some torn down and others preserved?
Buildings reflect our identities, our choices, and our values. They reflect our hopes and dreams. Some buildings make us stop and gape. Others are so familiar we hardly notice them when passing. Some buildings inspire passionate feelings that lead to conflict or compromise.
Buildings have stories. The stories are about us.
Explore these notions in the newest exhibit at the Winona County History Center! Stories in Structures: How Buildings Tell Us About Ourselves opens with a party on Thursday, November 2 from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Also hear from exhibit developers, enjoy refreshments, partake in interactives, and more! The exhibit opening party is free for WCHS members, regular museum admission for the public.
Stories in Structures was first visualized in 2010 when Greg Gaut and others joined their expertise and love of historic buildings. Two National Endowment for the Humanities grants led to the research and development of the exhibit.
Winona County’s greatest historical treasure is its large number of historic, architecturally significant buildings. The exhibit team took local architectural interpretation further to include the hopes, conflicts, and compromises that went into these buildings. Making the exhibit less about architectural history and more about the changes in a place and the people who made it happen. Local architecture is a tangible reflection of the identity, choices, and values of the community. Involving visitors through questions and invitations to put themselves in historical situations is a recurrent device throughout the exhibit. Visitors can read, listen, look, smell (yes, smell) and build their way through the exhibit.
With funding from the Elizabeth Callendar King Foundation and Schwab Construction, Museology created the final result. It is the first new large exhibit in an ongoing complete exhibit hall update project at the Winona County History Center.
The Winona County History Center is open daily 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at 160 Johnson St. in downtown Winona. Call 507.454.2723 or log on winonahistory.org to find more!