New Research Center and Visible Storage Gallery Opens at GAR Museum in Aurora
November 19, 2015 | In the PressFrom WSPY News (http://www.wspynews.com/news/local/new-research-center-and-visible-storage-gallery-opens-at-gar/article_07c5ab48-8a14-11e5-b785-430cf8aa16be.html)
Aurora's Grand Army of the Republic Veterans Memorial Museum (GAR) opened it's new Research Center and Visible Storage Gallery during Aurora's 2015 Veterans Day Parade on November 11th.
Located in the first floor rear gallery of the Aurora Public Art Commission at the Pierce Art & History Center, 20 E. Downer Pl., the center will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Visible Storage Gallery features two museum-quality visible storage cabinets, custom-created locally at Richards-Wilcox/Aurora Storage.
The cabinets are environmentally sealed to keep artifacts in an excellent state of preservation with wide UV-protected glass windows that allow visitors to view artifacts from the GAR's artifact collection that are usually kept in behind-the-scenes storage.
Displayed artifacts include gas masks from World War I and II, Civil War battlefield accessories, artillery projectiles from the Civil War through World War II, and uniform caps from the wide variety of veterans' organizations that met in the Grand Army of the Republic Post 20 Hall.
The Visible Storage Gallery is underwritten by a grant from the Independence Fund.
In the Research Center, the Museum's curator Erin Howard will be available by appointment to assist researchers in accessing portions of the Grand Army of the Republic Veterans Memorial Museum's collection of 2,500 artifacts, including photographs, scrapbooks, records of Grand Army of the Republic Post 20 and artifacts dating from the Civil War through the Vietnam War.
Interested researchers should contact curator Erin Howard at ehoward@aurora-il.org or call the Public Art Commission at 630-256-3340.
The Grand Army of the Republic Post 20 Hall has been closed for more than 20 years as it has undergone important structural and restorative work. The Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Museum plans to open new exhibitions on Memorial Day 2016.
The Public Art Commission oversees operations in both the GAR Veterans Memorial Museum and in the Research and Visible Storage Center.
The City of Aurora and the Aurora Veterans Advisory Council recognized the dedication of military service men and women who have given to our country at the annual Veterans Day Parade and Ceremony which took place on Wednesday, November 11, 2015.
The parade stepped off at 10:15 a.m. from the corner of Broadway and Benton Street, and headed north on Broadway, then west on Downer Place to the Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Hall, 23 E. Downer, where the "Honoring All Who Served" ceremony took place. The ceremony concluded with a military rifle salute at 11:00 a.m.
The keynote speaker for the ceremony was retired United States Marine Corps Major Charles Lynn Lowder, a nationally recognized advocate for veterans.
