The Humboldt & District Museum & Gallery is one step closer to its planned expansion into the Merchants Bank of Canada building after a $50,000 donation from BHP Billiton.
"BHP Billiton's support will greatly assist the museum in creating a wonderful and accessible venue for the arts, culture and heritage of the community," said Wanda Lefebvre, chairperson of the Museum Foundation, in a statement.
Conveniently located just across the street from the museum, the bank was built in 1920 and has housed several companies, including the Bank of Montreal and CIBC. Between 1989 and 2010 it was home to the city's tourism and special events department.
Looking for a place to expand, the museum's leadership identified the historic building only steps away from their current location.
Jennifer Hoesgen, the museum's curator, hopes the new space will allow for a wide range of activities and exhibits.
"My goal for all the work we do over there is to keep it flexible," she said, "so we can have an art show, we can have a historical exhibit in there, we can do a reception or a small community event."
The museum's current location sometimes suffers from a lack of usable space.
"Because we have an archives, a sports hall of fame, the museum and the arts centre, it's hard to make them all work and give equal space and time to each of them," Hoesgen said. "Hopefully we'll be able to do that a little more across the street."
The renovations to the Merchants Bank building are progressing in two stages and should be completed by January 2014.
Hoesgen said new exhibits for the space have already been determined, but wouldn't provide any details at this time.
