By Cindy Brzeski
It may not be paradise we’re paving exactly, but we are putting up a parking lot!
Yes, the noise, the felled trees, the silt fence, the heavy equipment, and the mud are all precursors to additional parking for Woodson Art Museum guests. No, there won’t be a pink hotel, and with deference to Joni Mitchell and Counting Crows, all of this Museum’s works can be viewed free of charge daily. If you recall the lyrics of Big Yellow Taxi, “They took all the trees, and put em in a tree museum and they charged the people a dollar and a half to see them.”
For those of you who’ve had to park blocks away on a previous visit, you’ll soon find additional and convenient parking in close proximity both to our main entrance and 12th Street entrance and, weather permitting, just in time for Birds in Art this fall.
With trees removed and loads of dirt hauled away, a parking lot is taking shape on the east side of 12th Street, across from the Museum. It will take several more weeks as crews complete the cement aprons, curb and gutters, asphalt paving, stone retaining wall, storm draining, masonry piers, and later the decorative fencing and landscaping.
I had no idea how much was involved in the construction of a parking lot. From acquisition of the property and zoning to the engineering study, design, bidding, contracts, and finally construction, the parking lot is nearly two years in the making. Now that the visible portion of the work has begun, we’re finally starting to see it come together.
It seems only fitting that with all of the trucks, construction trailer, back hoe, and other heavy equipment invading this quiet, residential area, our indoor offerings this summer are entitled Iron: New Work by American Blacksmiths and Ax Lore: Historic Tools from the John and Brenda Henson Collection.
Whether you are intrigued by a construction project underway or by amazing metal works of art, current tools, or something much more primitive, now is a great time to visit the Woodson Art Museum. As the song goes, “…you don’t know what you’ve got `til it’s gone!”
Editor’s note: Cindy Brzeski, business manager, has been working at the Museum for almost three months and is being welcomed enthusiastically into our blogosphere!
