Otherwise known as Certificate of Occupancy – from the Town!
Our Research Center passed its inspection with the Town and now we are in the midst of cleaning, installing blinds, washing windows, and moving things around. We await moving the collections in and new collections cabinets to arrive. This summer, we will be up and running and there will be plenty of opportunities to take a peek. You will find that the “renovation” was very light – taking into account the historic nature of the building and its historic fabric. Once William Mitchell’s schoolhouse, it lived on Howard Street and after he sold it, it actually followed him to Vestal Street where it continued as a school, including for the Town as the West Introductory School.
When the MMA was given the building in 1919, it was picked up and moved less than 100 feet to sit where it does now. It opened as the MMA Science Library in the early 1920s. The stucco Wing was added in 1933.
We have gone to great lengths to preserve the exterior and interior of the building while making minor alterations for an accessible bathroom and accessible pathway, a laboratory-like space which has counters and a sink built into the existing library shelving, and a new state-of-the-art HVAC system for the collections’ protection. I think anyone familiar with the interior of the building will note that it has not changed much. But, with new coats of paint, some updated furniture for students and researchers, we are on our way to a better space in which the MMA can conduct its research, store its historic biological collections, and welcome students and researchers alike to learn about the unique environment of Nantucket – from the land to the water to the skies above.
JNLF