And So We Begin...

Dear Friend of the Museum,

What an amazing moment for the Amesbury Carriage Museum! We welcome 2020 on the verge of a transformative project for the organization. Over the past many months our Board of Directors, staff, volunteers, consultants, advisors, and many of you have been part of the planning for the Industrial History Center in Mill 2. And now, our project is about to begin.

The Industrial History Center – an Update

This is our space in the lower level of Amesbury Industrial Supply. We have 2700 square feet that will be converted into the Industrial History Center. (photo by John Mayer)

The development of the Industrial History Center involves two design and permitting elements – the interior space and the exterior plaza and landscape. For the interior – we have completed our design and have a building permit in hand. Ben Becker of BLB Construction is our builder and Greg Colling of Merrimack Design is our architect. Ben and Greg have developed an exciting project plan and budget for the interior.

In December a crew dug test pits to confirm the quality of the soil on our site and then complete the engineering design for our entrance plaza and landscape plan. (photo by John Mayer)

The exterior plan has involved important consideration of environmental elements – most notably the management of surface water. We have worked with Ben Minnix of Eaglebrook Engineering and Jen Martel of Ironwood Landscape Design to develop a plan for the site that will lead to an inviting entrance while not impacting the environment. Our plan for the site has been submitted to the Amesbury Conservation Commission and will be reviewed on Monday, February 3 at a meeting in Amesbury City Hall.

Securing the funds for the project has been the focus of our Campaign Committee with Peter Hoyt and Greg Jardis serving as co-chairs, with museum staff, board members and others supporting the process. We have accomplished much over this past year – securing over $380,000 of our $670,000 goal. We have several requests in the works including a grant to the Mass Cultural Council for $120,000. And on February 4 will launch the public phase of the campaign. We still have funds to raise – but we are very confident we can reach our goal.

Please join us at our Launch Party on Tuesday, February 4 from 5 to 9 pm at Flatbread Pizza in the Amesbury Millyard. Many of us will be on hand to share information about the project, offer tours of the facility, and provide you with materials so you can support the campaign. This is a community effort – and if everyone does a little – many hands will make light work and we will open the History Center before the end of 2020!

Visit the ACM website for more details - https://amesburycarriagemuseum.org/ihc

The 2020 Program Calendar

We also will continue to offer our programs throughout the year. For 2020, we will focus on the history of power (water, steam, electricity, solar) and explore how these different technologies shaped and influenced the growth of our community.

Once again, we kick off our program season with History on Tap at Silvaticus Brewery on Monday, March 23 at 5:30 pm. Join us to learn more about the program calendar and of course, enjoy the power of the social energy that can be generated there!

For more information visit https://amesburycarriagemuseum.org/calendar

The 2020 Membership Drive

Members are the foundation of our organization and define the community that is the heart and soul of the ACM. Membership with the ACM runs for a calendar year – from January to December – which means we have a mailing at the beginning of the year to launch our drive.

The main benefit of your membership is supporting the work of the museum. Membership funds help us offer our programs. For some events – we provide a discount for members. Most important is building the number of people who are members which demonstrates the value of the ACM to our community.

Each year we have gradually added more people as members. We ended 2019 with 214 members – nearly a 20% increase from 2018. Imagine if we continued this trend in 2020! We would end the year with about 250 members. This would be truly amazing!

If you are interested – why not join us today? Here is a link https://amesburycarriagemuseum.org/membership

With Much Gratitude – I Say “Thank You”

I am about to begin my fifth year as the executive director of the ACM. Over the years I have worked in Amesbury we have accomplished so much. We have developed a strong and vibrant core to the museum. We have a very interesting program to offer. And we have a very exciting future ahead.

All of this has happened because of you – I sincerely appreciate your support, your participation, the many good suggestions you offer and the challenging questions you ask.

Thank you for being part of the ACM.

Here’s to great things ahead in 2020!

Onward,
John Mayer
Executive Director