Future Home of Staley Museum scheduled to open in Summer 2015
The Staley Museum is slated to open to the public in the summer of 2015 in Decatur, Illinois.
Follow along as the Staley Museum comes to life in the historic original A.E. Staley home, built in 1884 in Decatur, Illinois. The Staley family resided there from 1913 to 1951.
Over the course of the present year, the Staley Museum staff will be working to make the opening of the museum possible.
Some of the first projects on our list are those required by the City of Decatur.
Projects will include:
1. New paving of drive way and parking area and creation of handicap parking slots.
2. Creation of a handicap access: Ramp and doorway.
3. A Handicap accessible bathroom on the main floor.
4. Emergency lighting
These are some of the first jobs we will be tackling. In fact the first on the list, the paving of the driveway and parking area, has already begun.
Collapsed sewer line replaced during repaving
One additional problem we are facing with our beloved home is a collapsed sewer line, so we are taking advantage of the removal of the pavement to give us access to repair the sewer main.
So in this picture, you see the loads of filler that have been brought out to fill in after the main is replaced.
Parking lot area of future Staley Museum
The area between the main house and the carriage house has concrete in very poor condition.
It is at this time being torn out and this area and the area where the mounds of dirt are located, will be repaved and be the future museum parking.
Front steps to the future Staley Museum are slated for renovation
The steps at the front access to the home are also in very poor condition.
They too will be repaired as will the front sidewalk access to the home and a sidewalk that rounds the south side of the home and leads to the back parking and future handicap ramp.
Area around Staley Museum where handicap parking and ramps will be built.
This is the back south corner of the Staley home, the future Staley Museum.
This will be the location of the Handicap ramp and access to the museum. The two handicap parking spaces will be located directly next to the ramp.
Brick Side Walks near Staley Museum
In the fall of 2013, we were able to get one project finished before the harsh winter weather set in. We had discovered that the original brick side walk put down by the city probably around 100 years ago, was actually still present and buried under a thick layer of dirt and grass. We were able to get this side walk unearthed. People that live in the area now have a pleasant place to walk and many have stopped by to express their pleasure. The brick streets and the now recovered brick side walk certainly bring out the home’s historic flavor.