Spring opening envisioned for glass museum’s new home
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
The new location of the Duncan & Miller Glass Museum will have a library available for anyone wanting to do research.
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
A sign was recently installed at the new location of the Duncan & Miller Glass Museum in Washington.
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
With renovations just about complete, members and volunteers of Duncan & Miller Glass Museum can soon start moving their collection from their Jefferson Avenue location to their new site at 100 Ridge Ave.
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
The Duncan & Miller Glass Museum will have special sections dedicated to glass from specific design eras such as Art Deco and Victorian.
That finish line is a couple of months or so away, but everyone involved with the Duncan & Miller Glass Museum relocation is seizing the window of opportunity.
“I see this as a real community asset in the future,” said Kathy Grant, a volunteer with the nonprofit organization, which collects and displays decorative glassware pieces from the 19th and 20th centuries.
The museum, a longtime fixture at 525 Jefferson Ave. in Washington, will move crosstown to 100 Ridge Ave. this spring. An electronic sign outside proclaims, “Coming Soon! April 2019!” Grant and member Jon Day said they are pushing for an early April opening.
This has not been an easy renovation of a former Veterans Administration health-care facility, which had a bunch of small patients rooms. Instead of building a wall, workers have had to remove many of them at 100 Ridge, freeing up space. A lot of space.
Duncan & Miller will have 12,000 square feet of it – 6,000 each on the main floor and basement. That is 10 times the 1,200 square feet available along Jefferson, where a number of items cannot be displayed.
“This building will be much better for handling tour groups,” Grant said.
New ceiling, carpeting, lighting – and, yes, walls – have been installed. Shelving and display cases have been placed throughout the structure, adding sparkle. Although more work is ahead, the building is bright and well-appointed.
Winter weather has prevented parking lot paving.
Because the museum and the National Duncan Glass Society, the nonprofit that oversees the museum, often rely on donations, some renovations are done after funds arrive. The society purchased 100 Ridge Ave. from G4 Holdings Inc. for $440,000. Valley National Security was the previous occupant.
The new occupant will have a docent’s desk sitting near the front door, on a floor featuring a number of rooms. They will be used for displays, meetings and briefings about glass and Washington’s proud and profound history of glassmaking.
“These rooms will be period specific,” Grant said.
Library and research areas will be downstairs, along with an intriguing apparatus: an 1,800-pound glass-pressing machine that is old, rusty, but well-oiled and working. “We want to put it on display,” said Grant, who is unsure when the relic was built.
As usual, Duncan & Miller Glass Museum is generally closed this time of year. It is open to all visitors from early April through late December, but by appointment only the other three months.
April is coming, and so is the new home.
New products
West Penn Wire, manufacturer of low-voltage electric wire and cabling, has added network jacks, patch panels, cable assemblies and wall plates to its line of branded products bearing the company’s name. The firm, located on West Chestnut Street in Canton Township, said these products are more economical and have compliance warranties of 10-plus years.
“By continuing to stand behind our products and building upon almost 50 years of manufacturing expertise, we are signaling … that we are a partner that wants to be involved in long-term relationships rather than a vendor that is only interested in making a sale,” said Aaron Reighard, West Penn Wire’s director of marketing.
Business seminars
The University of Pittsburgh SBDC, through a $1.035 million grant from the federal Appalachian Regional Commission, will offer two seminar series on economic development this spring in Washington County. Both series are four parts and there is no charge to attend.
One series – “Planning for Profits” – will focus on strategies to increase sales for small businesses. It will take place in the Beinhauer Community Room, 2820 Washington Road, Peters Township. Sessions will run from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. March 26, April 9, April 23 and May 7. The application deadline is March 19.
The other – “Launch My Business” – will be geared toward startups and individuals thinking of starting a business. That series will take place at 532 McKean Ave., Charleroi (next to Perked Up Café). Sessions will run from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. March 27, April 10, April 24 and May 8. The application deadline is March 22.
Register at launchmybiz2019.eventbrite.com. For more information, email iee@innovation.pitt.edu or call 412-648-1542