Smog museum addition planned
DONORA – Donora Historical Society now stores archives on a borough with a rich history in a former Chinese restaurant without a climate control system to protect them.
The local library also has archives on the town’s history, and both groups now want to bring their collections under one roof by adding onto the library to create space for the society’s Smog Museum.
“That will be a big morale boost to have new construction going on in Donora,” said Alan Benyak, treasurer of the library board.
Donora Smog Museum at 595 McKean Ave. attracts visitors from across the globe because of the interest in the October 1948 disaster that killed more than 20 people and sickened thousands of others. Pollution from a zinc mill and other sources caused the deaths when it was trapped for a few days in the valley because of an unusual weather event. The borough is also etched in history by U.S. Steel closing the mills in the town in the 1950s, becoming one the first major steel plants to close in the country.
However, the museum has limited hours and it’s expected to draw more visitors to the library after the building addition is completed in 2018.
“The historic society for years has been getting inquiries from all over the world – Denmark, India and South Korea,” society archivist Bryan Charlton said.
Library board member Alex Ferguson said his board wants to build a state-of-the-art, green, two-story addition with an elevator attached to the north side of the library at 510 Meldon Ave. The $1.3 million construction project would create two rooms, each 80 feet wide and 40 feet long. The Donora Downtown Committee has donated property to the library for the addition, Ferguson said.
He also said the board is expected to hire a grant writer to seek funds for project, and it has asked for a $106,000 grant from Washington County’s Local Share Account to pay for an architectural design for the addition.
Benyak said the library is self-sustaining because of aggressive fundraising efforts in the past by former Donora Mayor John Lignelli and Ringgold School Board member Larry Mauro. He also said the library has been funded by benefactors, including John and Hazel Lauerman, who left the library $200,000 in their will in 2000.