The Yukon government is contributing $450,000 towards the planning and design of a major expansion at the MacBride Museum of Yukon History.
The work will affect the rear portion of the log-front centennial building, which doesn’t have the same construction standard as the front portion, explained MacBride executive director Patricia Cunning.
It’s likely the rear portion will be torn down and rebuilt entirely, she said, which would also give the museum more space for new exhibits and displays.
“Everything here is full, including our storage space,” she said.
“We can’t do any more exhibits or expand our programming.”
The funds will go towards the costs of engineering, architectural design, site preparing and planning.
The expansion would allow the museum to tell more of the territory’s stories, especially ones that focus on mining, Cunning said.
Many of the museum’s objects can’t be put on display because there simply is no room for them.
“We also want to work on cultural stories,” she said.
“And over the past eight to 10 years we’ve done a lot of sport partnership stories but there is no permanent home for those.”
Keith Halliday, chair of MacBride, said the expansion would help fulfill the museum’s core mandate of promoting Yukon history.
The new addition will also be built to modern construction standards, which means it will be carbon-emission free, he added.
It’s still too early to set a timeline for the construction of the new addition. But Halliday said there would be an emphasis on “maximizing local employment” during the construction phase.
Established in 1950, the museum was moved to the centennial building from the telegraph office in 1967. The rear portion was added five years later.
Contact Myles Dolphin at
myles@yukon-news.com