Art Barn transforms to make way for museum
The USU Museum of Anthropology, currently located in Old Main, will be moving to the Art Barn, located near the Vet Science Building and parking lot next to the TSC, in Fall 2011.
“There are lots of exhibits (the museum) wanted to do but were limited by space,” said Jon Alfred, department of history graduate student. The current museum has approximately 2,000 square feet of display space. The move will expand that about five times over, Alfred said.
Wheeler and Alfred gave a lecture on the Barn and museum Saturday. They have been assisting Dr. Bonnie Pitblado, anthropology program director, in researching the Barn’s history.
Alfred said the Art Barn, formally the Horse Barn, was originally built in 1893 where Widtsoe Hall currently is located and housed then University President Widtsoe’s buggy. The Barn was also used to house the university stallion. The university brought the horse from Fort Douglas and used it to improve herds throughout the valley, Alfred said.
In 1919 the Horse Barn was torn down and rebuilt in its current location. It housed horses until the 1950s. The livestock were removed from campus in 1955 and the Barn stood empty until 1959, Alfred said.
In 1959 the fine arts department facilities sustained serious damages from a kiln explosion. The fine arts department petitioned the University to remodel the Barn for the use of art instruction to replace space damaged in the explosion, Alfred said.
The Barn became of the home of painting, pottery and sculpting for the next 15 years. The use of nude models in the Barn created controversy, Alfred said. After the completion of the Chase Fine Arts Center, the barn housed the philosophy, sociology and language departments. During an inspection, the Logan City Fire Marshall condemned the upper two floors and the occupants relocated, Alfred said.
Pitblado took an interest in renovating the building in early 2010 and has led the project since then, Alfred said. The Barn will eventually include space for a welcome center and conference center, said Emily Brooksby Wheeler, a graduate student in the department of landscape architecture and environmental science.
“The University needs (a welcome center) so badly,” Alfred said, “It will be a place to show off new features at the university and get all the info on the university in one place.”
The center will also include a “silo” which will house an elevator. The appearance of the original barn will remain intact and the additions will be clear, Wheeler said.
“It’s about respecting the integrity of the original building and adapting it to new use,” she said. “We want people in the future to know what it looked like in the past.”
Wheeler also said turning the barn into a museum is an appropriate use for the building.
The university began as an agricultural college and is now a premier engineering school, Alfred said.
“The Horse Barn is an example of adaptability at USU,” he said.
“By using the Barn for this purpose, it brings everything full circle,” Wheeler said.
The restoration of the Barn is being funded through private donors and grassroots campaigns.
“We wanted the local people to feel they had ownership,” Wheeler said.
The museum plans on displaying new exhibits in the Barn, said Aurora Durfee, Saturday programs director at the museum.
“We will keep a lot of what we have but revamp a bit for a more uniform presentation,” Durfee said. “There are a bunch of different collections from different professors. Artifacts on loan from Europe, archaeological artifacts.”
“I love listening to historical stories. I didn’t realize all the history behind it,” said Andrea Harmon, English major, “I would love to see it restored.”
– rouchelle.brockman@aggiemail.usu.edu