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• Milestones
1898 Erie artists come together to found the Art Club of Erie, which presents exhibitions at the new Public Library on Perry Square.
1942 The Art Club and the Public Museum move from the Library to the Watson-Curtze Mansion at 6th and Chestnut.
1956 The Art Club acquires the Wood-Morrison House, immediately east of the Watson-Curtze Mansion.
1966 The Art Club rebrands itself as the Art Center of Erie and conducts a highly successful membership campaign. It also benefits from the first United Arts Fund Drive.
1968 John Vanco is hired by the Art Center of Erie to be its first paid director.
1969 The Art Center of Erie becomes the Erie Art Center and develops into a hub of cultural activity.
1975 Erie Art Center Frame Shop opens in the basement of the Wood-Morrison House.
1981 Erie Art Center’s ClaySpace studio opens at 1505 State Street. A theater is added the following year, and additional space is developed into artists studios. Contemporary Music Series commences in 1982.
1983 The Erie Art Center moves to the Old Custom House on State Street and becomes the Erie Art Museum. Programming increases by 400% over the next 2 decades.
1983 The Art Museum purchases the Annex Buildings (formerly Ashby Printing Company), and relocates the Frame Shop to 423 State Street.
1985 First architectural study demonstrating feasibility of connecting Annex and Museum is completed by Crowner King Architects.
1990 Planning process for Art Museum expansion is instituted. It leads to collaboration with the Erie County Historical Society and, ultimately, the establishment of Discovery Square in 1992. The first major project of Discovery Square is the creation of the Experience Children’s Museum. A series of renovation projects improve the historic buildings that house the Art Museum, Children’s Museum, and Historical Society. The envisioned central building linking the three museums into one facility goes through three design iterations, but is never constructed.
2001 The three Museums choose to pursue separate development paths, and Discovery Square is phased out, ultimately merging with the Art Museum in 2008.
2003 Museum develops a new strategic plan that calls for a large expansion to meet its needs for displaying and storing its collection, programming, and to create a visitor experience that would make it a destination and a part of the critical mass of the downtown and regional infrastructure. The Board approves the plan and pledges $100,000 towards this effort.
2004 The Museum Board retains Marvin Gold as fund raising counsel to plan and direct the process of raising the funds necessary for the expansion. Financial planning consultant Tom Harris is also engaged, to assist in creating an action plan for the staff and board to move from a small nonprofit to a medium size institution. The Board pledges another $100,000 towards this effort.
2005 The Board reaffirms the strategic plan in February. A planning study is undertaken to determine the potential for a campaign of the size needed to accomplish the Museum goals. The study is positive and the Board launches a $9 million campaign in August 2005. There will be a $3 million endowment created. The Community Fund Drives Committee endorses the Art Museum’s expansion campaign as their only approved campaign of 2006. Erie County provides $500,000 for the project. The Board pledges $1 million to the campaign.
2006 After a national search for an architect, EDGE Studio of Pittsburgh is retainedto design the expansion. Governor Rendell pledges $1.5 million for the project and Senator Jane Earll pledges another $500,000
2007 The Museum retains Spaulding/Banks Construction Management to manage the construction of the project. The Museum enters into an agreement to purchase the Erie County Historical Society’s History Center building at 419-421 State Street. This improves the Museum project by eliminating several expensive exiting solutions and provides an additional 3500 square feet of first floor space, and 23,000 square feet for future expansion. This also allows the Historical Society to strategically plan their future. Value engineering of the project takes place within the hiatus during negotiations over the history center building.
2008 Governor Rendell pledges another $1.5 million to the project. Construction drawings begin. The History Center building is incorporated into the design and the EAM is awarded a Kresge Foundation Green Planning Grant leading to “greening” of the total project and the goal of Silver LEED certification.
2009 Bids are solicited and received. All elements of the project are within the construction budget. Ground breaking and construction begins. The campaign total exceeds $7.5 million.
May 8, 2009
Erie Art Museum breaks ground on expansion and renovation project
May 11, 2009
Construction fence installed
June, 2009
Tearing up the parking lots to prepare the building site.
2009
EDGE studio Project Architect Anne Chen surveys structural steel for
Multipurpose Room.
2009
Framing underway for the Bacon Gallery, that will link the Old Custom House
to the new building
2009
Framing underway for the entrance of the new building
2010
Nearing completion
2010
Lobby area
October 2010
EAM is named the National GreenSite winner in the institutional category for its polished concrete floor. Contractors used high-volume macro-synthetic fibers as an alternative to steel reinforcement, making it a 'green' project while maintaining an aesthetically beautiful, polished surface.
October 23, 2010
Ribbon cutting ceremony with Director John Vanco, Mayor Joseph Sinnott
and Architect Anne Chen
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