After six months of renovations, the Cayuga Museum is reopening next week.
As completion nears on the West End Arts Campus, the museum will hold a soft opening on Saturday, November 30 from 11:00a-2:00p. The museum will then be open for regular hours, Wednesday through Saturday 10:00a-5:00p from December 4 until January 4.
Geoff Starks is the museum’s Director of Development and Outreach. He told Finger Lakes News Radio that museum staff are excited to once again be open to the public.
“It’s definitely surreal because it’s been such a long time coming both in the planning of this and it actually happening. We’re very excited of course.”
Starks said that among the changes visitors will notice are a new main entrance and exhibit space, parking upgrades, and sidewalks connecting to the Schweinfurth Art Center. The new entrance, located on the west side of the building is particularly important, according to Starks, because it is more accessible than the original entrance.
Starks added that the opening will include the unveiling of four new exhibits: an exhibit on the history of the Willard-Case Mansion which would come to house the museum; an exhibit on Walter Long, the leading force behind the museum’s founding; an exhibit selling the story of Cayuga County through a series of curated objects, and an exhibit exploring the local impact on the national film industry.
After January 4, Starks said the museum will once again close with a grand reopening planned for February 5.
The museum closed in May to allow for work to take place on the West End Arts Campus. During this time, the museum temporarily relocated to downtown Auburn.
While most of the work is complete, there are still some final touches that need to be done. The museum is accepting donations to help raise the remaining $70,000 needed to achieve this. Donations can be made on the museum’s website.
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