Museum Opens Doors
SIX MONTHS IN THE MAKING
The newly renovated Ticket Office Museum welcomed hundreds of guests during the Victorian Chautauqua Festival on July 8th and 9th. A ribbon-cutting ceremony in conjunction with the Garrett County Chamber of Commerce and The Mayor and Town Council of Mountain Lake Park will be held on August 8th from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM to thank all of its contributors and to announce future hours of operation. The public is invited to attend.
The museum exhibition has been fully redesigned to guide visitors through the rise of the acclaimed Mountain Chautauqua summer resort and to its transition into a year-round incorporated municipality. The Mountain Lake Park Historical Association (MLPHA) was awarded a grant from the Mountain Maryland Gateway to the West Heritage Area and Maryland Heritage Areas Authority for the project. Funds were matched by the Town of Mountain Lake Park to expand the scope of the new exhibition. Additional in-kind and cash gifts from Naylors Hardware, Fitzwater Furniture, Railey Design, The Robinson & Franc Families, Mountain Top Glass & Mirror, Lakeside Creamery, Elizabeth & Jeff Gilbert, Mike Hood & Carolyn Henderson, MLPHA President, Karen Wooddell, and Laura & Mark Stutzman helped to fund all the bells and whistles. Community Partners Garrett County Historical Society and Ruth Enlow Library provided research assistance and the latter podcast training for the audio tours. Our Town Theatre and St. Mark’s Lutheran Church supplied tables for organizing the collection of artifacts during the six months leading up to the installation. New additions to the museum were provided by Karen Wooddell, Sarah & Diana Haynes, and Lisa & Dave Bender.
The ovular building once served as the Ticket Office to the 5,000-seat Bashford Amphitheater that stood on the land Leo Martin Memorial Park now occupies. Made of logs and vertical siding, the charming structure mimics the architectural details of its mammoth performance venue companion. Although diminutive on the exterior, the interior walls of the museum reach 10 feet high allowing the visual content to stretch upward. The exhibition takes advantage of every square inch of wall space. What can’t fit on the walls is archived on an interactive touchscreen monitor. Audio tours are also available on personal devices or by using supplied MP3 players.
Curator, Elizabeth Rees Gilbert worked with Karen Wooddell to update the museum’s collection. Wooddell and her piers first transformed the historic structure into a museum in 1996. Gilbert combed through the existing collection to catalog its belongings. Then the difficult task of sorting through the collection to tell Mountain Lake Park’s story began with a timeline of events from the Association’s founding, through its crescendo. The eventual decline of the summer Mountain Chautauqua and the introduction of modern amenities ushered in a transition away from a vacation destination toward year-round living. Months of research and preparation with the assistance of Sallie Stuart laid the groundwork for how the exhibition now looks. Working closely with the museum’s designers, Laura and Mark Stutzman, the team chiseled away at featuring the highlights of an elaborate and unique story centered on the Mountain Chautauqua years.
Pictured; Kim Folk, Mountain Maryland Gateway To The West Heritage Area Director, Elizabeth Rees Gilbert, Curator, Karen Wooddell, co-curator and MLPHA President, Laura Stutzman and Mark Stutzman, Design Team from Eloqui, Inc.
Chris Logsdon (left), President of the Allegany Museum in Cumberland joins Katie Caljean and David Belew from the Maryland Center for History and Culture to enjoy a private tour.
VICTORIAN DETAILS SET THE MOOD
Using architectural salvage, the Stutzmans repurposed antique carved woodworking, columns, and period picture frames to complement the museum’s collection. Wooddell amassed many of the authentic vintage elements integrated into the displays. She and her late husband Hopwood refurbished several historic homes in Mountain Lake Park and were continuously hunting for Victorian salvage to use for repairs. With her restoration projects behind her, Wooddell made her stockpile available for the renovation project.
A design goal was to give a feeling of the Victorian era upon entering the museum. Details like rose-colored velvet curtains and a vintage-style wallpaper pattern replicate environments from that time. A decorative custom ceiling border encompasses the room. The custom design mimics the wallpaper pattern while framing scenic images, notable landmarks, and important people from the summer resort. Even the dark blue ceiling tells a story. Seventy-two stars are strategically placed above to replicate the July sky from 1882, the first year of programming at the Mountain Chautauqua. An impressive breakfront recovered from Hamilton Hall greets visitors. Embellished with silk peonies indicative of rural hotel arrangements, a newly appointed cresting says “Welcome” to those first entering. As one looks beyond, the back wall mural of the five thousand-seat Bashford Amphitheater interior engulfs the room and allows onlookers to appreciate the massive structure and all its grandeur. Restoring the original eight-inch by ten-inch image for the mural required four days of retouching to remove the scratches and the ravages of time.
A postcard tower display stand was made from reclaimed lumber.
A blend of old and new woodworking welcomes visitors.
Reclaimed mahogany stand fabricated for the Briar Bend Bell.
As one enters the museum, a timeline is prominently displayed to the left under a wall introducing the founding years of the Mountain Lake Park Association. The clockwise configuration progresses to influential women, merchants & services, the glory days of the Mountain Chautauqua, the lifestyle from the turn of the last century, and concludes with the transitional years away from a Christian summer resort to a year-round residential community. Text panels throughout the museum allow for a more in-depth learning experience or guests can simply enjoy browsing the myriad of images and objects from the past. Kathleen Gibbs graciously provided proofreading and editing services for the extensive written content. An interactive touch screen has additional photos and documents and a vintage aerial map of Mountain Lake Park featuring many cottages still standing today. Audio tours are also available on personal devices or by using supplied MP3 players and disposable earbuds.
During museum hours, volunteers will be available to answer questions and guide people through the exhibit. A small gift shop offers keepsakes visitors can take home. Books, postcards, glassware, and holiday ornaments are among the current items for sale. All gift shop proceeds benefit MLPHA and donations are always appreciated.
MUSEUM HOURS
The Ticket Office Museum will be open on the select dates below or by appointment.
Write to contact.mlpha@gmail.com to schedule a visit. Groups welcome.
Saturday, August 12th from 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Saturday, September 9th from 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
AUTUMN GLORY WEEKEND
Autumn Glory hours include free Trolley Tours of the Historic District
Friday, October 13th from 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Saturday, October 14th from 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Sunday, October 15th from 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Saturday, November 11th from 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
