April 2011 – Minot, N.D. – The Lillian and Coleman Taube Museum of Art has received the last of its funding from a matching grant from St. Joseph’s Community Health Foundation to make a more accessible entryway.
The check was presented Tuesday evening during a members reception the museum for the North Dakota Student Art Show.
The entrance to the museum is made up of two separate doors. The first is an old heavy door “and it’s really hard for people to open at times, especially in the winter,” said Nancy Walter the museum’s executive director. Inside, there is another set of doors, which are made of copper that open out.
“What makes things difficult, in addition to the small space between the two sets of doors, is the layout of these sets. The first set of doors opens into a small vestibule which narrows to the second set. It is impossible to negotiate a straight line of entry into the museum currently,” Walter said.
People trying to maneuver through the entryway “do a jig” to get in, Walter said, adding that this entry is severely compounded when a person is in a wheelchair or has another handicap that makes it difficult to easily gain entry.
“It’s hard to maneuver because there isn’t a lot room,” Walter said.
Now, with the grant, the museum plans to not only change the layout so that two sets of doors are parallel to each other, but the doors can also be activated with a push button. The façade outside will also match the rest of the exterior, Walter said.
Every year over the past three years, St. Joseph’s Community Health Foundation has matched the $5,000 raised by community members and members of the museum. Walter said that the museum’s current membership ranges between 400 and 450 members. Tuesday’s presentation was the last matching grant, “so now we have the full $30,000, and we’re able to move ahead with the plans,” Walter said. While a specifici date hasn’t been set, she said that new doors should be installed “by this fall.”
The purpose of the St. Joseph’s grant is “to promote and support projects and services that contribute to the health and vitality” of residents in northwest and north central North Dakota, according to its website.
In the past, St. Joseph’s Community Health Foundation helped with repairs for the museun’s wheelchair lift, as well as an art program for senior citizens through an MSU program, said Shelly Weppler, executive director.
Weppler noted that helping make the entrance more accessible to all fits with the mission of the Foundation, to make people feel they are welcome equally.
“People can walk down the sidewalk and know that they can push a button and feel welcomed,” Weppler added.
This article was originally published in the Minot Daily News