BRENHAM HERITAGE MUSEUM HANGS NEW BANNERS
Anyone driving through downtown Brenham on Main or Market Street can see three new banners that went up Friday at the Brenham Heritage Museum.
The banners on the old Post Office building feature different vintage photos from Brenham: May Edna Carroll, the 1931 Maifest Senior Queen; two workers manufacturing banding for cotton bales in the 1930s, and a young man and his catch at the Fish Rodeo at the Gun & Rod Club in 1952. The latter two photos are courtesy of the Winkelmann Collection from the Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin.
Each of the banners carries a message about the mission of the Brenham Heritage Museum, as in “Shining a Light on Washington County History,” or the capital campaign currently raising money to complete the renovation and the exhibit build out in the building. Those messages are “Help Rebuild and Sustain” along with “Recognizing Our History, Building Our Future.” The City of Brenham loaned a bucket truck to hang the banners.
Construction at the historic Post Office building has been continuous since the start of June. Bullock Construction of Brenham is the general contractor, while Elizabeth Price of Upchurch Architects is overseeing the construction and updating of the building. Core Design Studio and the museum’s interim executive director, Mike Vance, are creating the exhibits.
The museum is seeking both corporate and individual partners in its capital campaign. Naming rights are available.
To learn more, or to donate, visit www.brenhamheritagemuseum.org.
Is there a date of reopening yet?
I think that the museum originally said that the total renovation would run $2 million. At this point, I believe they have somewhere north of $600,000. As far as reopening, probably end of 2022, unless someone who is associated with the museum reads this and would like to make a correction.
Our plan is to open a portion of the main floor of the historic post office in mid-2022 while we continue to build out the exhibits for the rest of the main floor. The basement exhibits will come last, though all of the building renovation will be complete. We are currently in a capital campaign, and of course, money matters. We welcome everyone’s support as we create what we are convinced will be the best regional history museum in Texas and a cornerstone of downtown Brenham. Please contact about donating. – Mike Vance, interim executive director, Brenham Heritage Museum
Thank you, Mr. Vance, for taking the time to explain the current plans for the museum reopening. I would hope that other entities in this town and county would take a note from you to answer questions posed by readers and listeners to KWHI’s sites. Besides being good for the museum and giving us all something to look forward to, it reveals that the predominantly (and maybe all) volunteer staff CAN READ and CARES ENOUGH TO RESPOND. My belief is that other entities have people who lack reading skills, or who lack the notion to tell the public what is happening.