Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art facts for kids
 |
|
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Established | 1977 |
|---|---|
| Location | 1400 First Avenue North, Great Falls, Montana, U.S. |
| Type | Art museum |
| Visitors | 29,000 (2010) |
|
Great Falls Central High School
|
|
| Location | 1400 First Avenue North, Great Falls, Montana, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Built | 1896 |
| Architect | William White |
| Architectural style | Romanesque Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 76001120 |
| Added to NRHP | September 1, 1976 |
The Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art (also called PGSMA) is an art museum in Great Falls, Montana. It's located in a historic building that was once the city's first high school.
The building was built in 1896 as Great Falls High School. Later, it became Paris Gibson Junior High School. In 1977, the Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art opened in this special building. It's one of six museums in Great Falls. The building itself is so important that it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
The museum mainly shows modern art by artists from the local area. You can see folk art, abstract art, and even cool functional art like jewelry. Besides two floors of art galleries, there's also a fun outdoor sculpture garden to explore!
Contents
The Old High School Building
How the School Building Was Built
The city of Great Falls started in 1883. By 1890, it was growing fast with a dam, factories, and a railway. The public school system began in 1886.
Great Falls High School started in 1890 because four teenage girls wanted to continue their education. They were the first students! At first, they met in a corner of another school building. By 1892, the high school was its own separate school.
In 1896, the Great Falls Public Schools built the first Great Falls High School building. People voted in 1893 to sell bonds (like a loan) to pay for it. But a financial crisis in 1893 delayed the building. A local architect named William White designed the school.
Cool Facts About the High School Building
William White's design was in the Romanesque Revival style. It had three stories, a round central part, two rectangular wings, and an eight-story clock tower. The building, at 1400 First Avenue North, started being built in 1894.
The school was made from gray sandstone from nearby quarries. The walls were super thick, starting at 5 feet (1.5 meters) at the bottom! To make the ground strong for the foundation, a herd of sheep was even driven around the building 100 times! The wood for the inside came from huge trees floated down the Missouri River.
The finished building had a tin roof that looked like tiles. Inside, there was solid oak wood, and all rooms had 3-foot (0.9-meter) high wood panels on the walls. The doors were very thick, and fancy designs were above each door. Even the doorknobs and hinges were ornate brass! The building cost $110,000 to build and was finished in 1896. It had 14 classrooms, labs, an art studio, and an assembly hall for 400 students.
In 1913, a brick annex was added to the south side of the school. This cost $200,000.
The "Haunted" Boiler Room Story
There's an old story that the school's old boiler room was turned into a swimming pool, and a student drowned there, making the school haunted. But in the 1990s, people found out that while a student named Grant Mill did drown in 1915, it was in the Missouri River, not a secret pool! Still, some people say they've heard strange things in the basement.
The tall clock tower was removed in 1916 because it was too heavy for the building.
Life as Paris Gibson Junior High School
Great Falls High School moved to a new building in 1931. From 1930 to 1975, the old building became Paris Gibson Junior High School.
The front entrance on the north side was closed in the 1940s because the steps were sinking. The south entrance became the main one. In the late 1960s, a student had a scary accident. He climbed onto the elevator to the roof and got an electrical shock from a power line, but he survived! Another time, a student in the gym tried to do chin-ups on a water pipe, and it broke, flooding the gym!
The junior high school moved out in June 1975 to a new building. This new building used to be a Catholic high school. The Great Falls Public Schools bought it in 1975. Paris Gibson Junior High moved there in 1976.
The old Great Falls Central High School building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in September 1976.
Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art Today
How the Museum Started
After the junior high moved out in 1975, people worried the old school building might be torn down. It was in bad shape. But a group of people who loved history and art wanted to save it. Great Falls already had the C. M. Russell Museum Complex for Western art, but there was no place for modern art.
Leaders from the Junior League in Great Falls, Jean Warden Dybdal and Pam Marlen, started a group to save the building. Their idea was to create a community cultural center, which later became the museum. The city and county agreed to share ownership of the building. The museum would lease the building for just $1 a year! They also promised to teach students and the public about art.
The Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art (PGSMA) officially became a nonprofit in 1976. It was named after Paris Gibson, who founded the city. The museum had two big challenges: the old building wasn't good for storing art, and they didn't have much art yet!
Volunteers helped renovate the building. Some beautiful old features, like brass doorknobs, were kept. But the old wood panels and blackboards were covered with drywall to create more display space. The museum quickly started getting art, mostly through donations. They even got 243 sculptures by a famous folk artist named Lee Steen!
The Movie Explosion!
Just before the museum opened, part of the building exploded! But it was planned for a movie called Telefon. The city agreed to let the filmmakers blow up the 1913 brick annex (which wasn't historic) to save money on demolition. The explosion was set up to go away from the main historic building, so the museum wasn't damaged. But it was so powerful that it threw flaming pieces onto nearby homes!
The Paris Gibson Museum of Art opened in 1977. In its early years, the museum grew its art collection and improved its space for showing art and holding classes. Because the collection was small at first, the museum shared space with other groups like the Cascade County Historical Society. In 1988, the museum even showed artwork by the famous actor Robert De Niro!
Cool Features and Improvements
In 1993, the museum opened an outdoor sculpture garden. The first sculpture was "Gibson Gateway" by Robert Harrison. It's an archway framed by brick walls. Later, other cool sculptures were added, like Richard Swanson's "Prairie Tops" (a yellow, spinning-top-like piece) and Lisa Easton's "Two Sisters" (made with heavy stones and steel).
Starting in 1995, the museum began a big fundraising effort called the "Centennial Campaign" to make major improvements. They raised a lot of money! This allowed them to:
- Put back a historic circular driveway at the north entrance.
- Replace all the old, leaky windows.
- Fix the heating and cooling system.
- Repair the roof.
- Improve the exhibit spaces.
- Restore the beautiful old oak wood trim and light fixtures.
They also improved the Pam Marlen Memorial Garden with new plants and built a new outdoor playground for kids!
In 1999, the museum received a big grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. This money helped support an exhibit of modern Native American art.
The 2000s: Growth and Challenges
In 2000, other groups moved out of the museum, giving PGSMA much more space. The museum received a grant to remodel and expand its exhibit space from 1,800 square feet to 3,800 square feet (about 167 to 353 square meters)! They planned three new galleries:
- Northwest Contemporary Art Gallery
- Contemporary Outsider Art Gallery (for Lee Steen's works)
- Photography Gallery
These new galleries opened in 2001.
The museum faced some money problems in the early 2000s due to county budget cuts. In 2003, for the first time, the museum started charging a small admission fee ($2 for adults). They also cut their budget and staff training. But they worked hard to raise more money and get new members.
In 2004, the museum received two important grants that helped a lot. One was for its long-term fund, and another was to expand its community programs.
Things got better after 2006. A local company, Pacific Steel & Recycling, donated money to keep the museum admission-free for several years! This helped attendance go up a lot. In 2007, the museum got a grant to add Braille and large-print signs, making it more accessible for everyone.
The 2010s: More Changes
The museum continued to get donations in the early 2010s. A grant in 2009 helped them hire someone to organize and catalog their art collection online. Farmers Union Insurance also donated to keep the museum admission-free in 2010 and 2011.
There were some staff changes around 2011-2012. In late 2012, the museum faced a big problem when one of its old boilers broke down, and the other was about to fail! They needed new heaters to keep the building warm.
About the Museum Today
The Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art is in a beautiful Romanesque Revival building made of gray sandstone. It has three floors, a basement, and an attic.
There are seven galleries on the first and second floors where you can see paintings, sculptures, and other art. The second floor also has classrooms for art classes, performances, and talks. More classrooms are in the basement.
The museum's collection focuses on modern art by artists from Montana, the western United States, and western Canada. In 2000, they had 500 pieces of art! Because there's no special elevator for big items, the museum can only display art up to a certain size and weight.
Art Programs for Kids and Community
The museum's classrooms are mostly used for educational programs. They offer unique programs that other local museums don't.
- The Vision, Strength and Access Program helps young people at risk, people with challenges, and senior citizens create art. It's a safe place designed to help them express themselves.
- The After School Program is for kids from kindergarten through 12th grade. It's a safe and caring place where kids can be creative and learn to think critically. Both programs are free!
The museum also lets community groups use its classrooms for events and meetings.
Outside, you can enjoy the small outdoor sculpture garden and the Pam Marlen Memorial Garden, which has seating for outdoor dining.
Besides art galleries and classrooms, the museum has a gift shop and spaces you can rent for special events.
The museum had about 29,000 visitors in 2010.
Events at the Museum
Since 1977, the museum has hosted a popular event called Christmas Collection every November. It's a three-day show featuring arts and crafts from local artists. It's the biggest arts and crafts show in Great Falls! You need tickets to get in, and it raises a lot of money for the museum.
Since 1998, the museum also hosts an annual art auction and benefit dinner each February.
Another important event is Art Equinox, which started in 1985 and happens every two years. It's an art show where modern artists from 12 Western U.S. states can submit their work to be displayed at PGSMA.
Who Runs the Museum?
The museum is run by a board of 14 directors. They choose a president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer from among themselves.
The museum has a small staff, including six full-time people (like the Executive Director and Curators) and four part-time staff.
Past Executive Directors
Here are some of the people who have led the Paris Gibson Museum of Art:
- Bonnie Laing-Malcomson (1994 to 2000)
- Jessica Hunter (interim, 2000 to 2003)
- Lynne Spriggs (2003 to 2006)
- Jessica Hunter Larsen (interim, 2006)
- Kathy Lear (2006 to 2012)
- Tracy Houck (2012 to 2019)
- Sarah Justice (interim, 2019; then full-time, 2019 to present)
|
