Story by Van Mitchell, Staff Writer
The State Capital Publishing Museum will host its annual fundraiser, A Night for the Museum, on Thursday Oct. 24 from 6 to 8:30 p.m., at the museum located at 301 West Harrison Avenue in Guthrie.
This year’s event will honor former Oklahoma Senator AJ Griffin Ph.D., who was instrumental in passing legislation allowing the museum to acquire the historic building it is working to restore and refurbish.
This year’s fundraising goal is just over $200,000.
Guests can enjoy an open bar courtesy of The Wander Inn, while taking in a live performance by Jazz Hall of Fame artist Justin Echols on the piano. The event will also include a special Whiskey Pull, where attendees can donate for the chance to pull a bottle of whiskey, with selections ranging in value from $50 to several hundred dollars.
The evening will feature both live and silent auctions, hosted by Bray Auctioneers. Items up for bid include vacation packages, service packages from local businesses, gift baskets, and one-of-a-kind items. Proceeds from the event will go toward the ongoing restoration efforts of the museum.
Additionally, a live demonstration of antique printing equipment will occur, offering guests a unique glimpse into the rich history of the publishing industry.
“This event gets better every year, and this year will set a new high bar,” said Kord Stockwell, president of the State Capital Publishing Museum Board. “We have a lot of progress to be proud of, and the community support is what’s making that possible. Come join us and see what’s happening.”
The State Capital Publishing Museum is on the National Register of Historic Places. It was in the State Capital Publishing Museum on Nov. 16, 1907, that President Theodore Roosevelt sent a teletyped message congratulating Oklahoma Indian Territory for becoming the 46th state in the Union.
Today, the museum’s board is actively repairing, restoring and preserving the facility and its artifacts, with the goal of educating the public on Oklahoma’s history through the printing industry.
By the mid 1970’s the building was in a sad state of repair. Local citizens, concerned that the structure might be lost to history, began a movement toward preservation. They raised money to purchase it from the private owner, who deeded it to the Guthrie Chamber of Commerce, who then donated it to the Oklahoma Historical Society to be used as a museum.
OHS began the enormous task of preserving the building. After rehabilitating most of the first two floors, the building was opened as a museum in 1982. No effort was made to rehabilitate the top two floors due to funding issues. The roof was replaced in 2003, which finally stopped further water damage to the top floors, but the existing damage is extensive. It was always a “three-season” museum. The only climate control was an antiquated boiler system, feeding old-fashioned radiators, as the building has never had a modern HVAC system. In 2012 the boiler broke down and was deemed irreparable. The building was closed in 2012.
After some shifting in state government, the State of Oklahoma almost forced OHS to sell the building to a developer with plans to convert the building into affordable senior housing by using low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC). Fearing that much of the rich history of the building would be lost forever, concerned citizens from all over the state of Oklahoma began a concerted effort to stop the conversion. A coalition of private citizens, City Council, the Guthrie Chamber of Commerce and others successfully negotiated a deal which allowed the current owner (/dba The State Capital Publishing Museum) to take title to the property, along with the historical contents, on June 27, 2018.
As part of that deal, The State Capital Publishing Museum has committed to spend a minimum of $262,000 towards repairing, preserving and restoring the building by June 27, 2023. This amount was agreed upon based on two assessments of the building’s current worth. That “initial” investment of $262,000 represents a fraction of what it will take to completely restore and renovate the building.
“We’re rehabilitating the building that we’re in,” said Sam Sims, secretary of the State Capital Publishing Museum Board. “We’ve done our best to keep it up, and we just need to keep going on it so that we can open it up to the public. We want to make sure that the facility itself is in working order, and we want to make sure that some of that printing equipment is brought back to working order, as well. It’s a piece of Oklahoma history, and we don’t want to let it go. We’re in it for the long haul.”
Tickets for A Night for the Museum are available for purchase at https://publishingmuseum.org, with prices starting at $100. Sponsorship opportunities are also available.
