A new multi-million dollar addition to the Stark Museum of Art will provide studio space for art activities and a library archives for historical documents relating to the Lutcher and Stark families. The Stark Foundation Thursday morning broke ground for the addition, which is being built by SpawGlass.
Walter Riedel, president and CEO of the foundation, said the addition “ensures the legacy of our founders (Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark) in art and education.”
The new wing will have 15,000 square feet and cost between $7 million and $8 million. It will be on Sixth Street, the street along the east side of the museum, between Green Avenue and Elm Avenue.
The first floor will be designated for art education and include two studio classrooms that can be used at the same time. Riedel said the “much needed” extra room will allow the museum to offer more opportunities for people to “explore their inner artist.”
In addition, the first floor will have a multi-purpose room, gallery space for hanging artwork, public restrooms, storage and a small catering kitchen.
The second floor will feature the Eunice R. Benckenstein Library and Archive, named in honor of the woman who served many years on the foundation’s board of directors. The floor will have archival storage for historic documents and photographs collected by the Lutcher and Stark families from the 19th and 20th centuries.
Riedel, in his opening to the ground-breaking ceremony, quoted a newspaper article from 1910 about W.H. Stark, the father of the foundation’s founder, announcing the construction of a modern, fireproof building on Front Street. The building still stands. Riedel mentioned the archives include letters written by Henry Jacob Lutcher to his partner G. Bedell Moore as they were founding the 19th Century Lutcher and Moore Lumber Co., which was centered in Orange.
The Eunice R. Benckenstein Library and Archive floor will also include a research room, small exhibition and display area, library collections, a workroom, offices and restroom.
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