Reynolds-Alberta Museum
The Reynolds-Alberta Museum, in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada is one of 21 provincially owned and operated historic sites and museums.[1] It traces the mechanization of Alberta's transportation, aviation, agricultural, and industrial past from the 1890s to present, as cars and trucks replaced horse-drawn buggies and wagons, huge factories replaced the village blacksmith shop, and mechanized equipment replaced animal and human-powered farm implements.
Established | 1992 |
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Location | Wetaskiwin, Alberta Canada. |
Type | Provincial transportation, aviation, agricultural, industry museum |
Director | Noel Ratch |
Curator |
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Website | reynoldsmuseum |
The Main Gallery is designed as a "highway through time", beginning with a horse-drawn carriage of the late 19th century and featuring four stations; a 1911 factory, a 1920s grain elevator, a 1930s service station, and a 1950s drive-in.
Featured artifacts include:
- a one-of-a-kind 1929 Duesenberg Phaeton Royale Model J[2]
- the world's oldest known production Chevrolet, a 1913 Chevrolet Classic Six[3]
- the world's oldest dragline, a Bucyrus Class-24 built in 1917[3]
- a 1928 American Eagle biplane,
- a full-scale replica of the Avro Arrow
- a half-track vehicle used in the infamous Bedaux Expedition, the subject of the film "Champagne Safari"
The Museum also serves as home to Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame.[4][5]
The museum is located in the city of Wetaskiwin on Highway 13, near the Wetaskiwin airport. The street address is 6426 40 Avenue, Wetaskiwin.
History
The Reynolds-Alberta Museum opened in 1992 as a project of Alberta Community Development and Alberta Infrastructure. It is named for Stan Reynolds, a Wetaskiwin businessman and collector.[6] Before his death in 2012, Reynolds donated 1500 artifacts to the museum.[7][8] Stan had owned a local car dealership and always advertised that he would take anything in trade - therefore the large and varied collection of vehicles, airplanes and farm implements.[9]
The museum spaces include a restaurant, meeting rooms, exhibition display areas, 120 seat theatre, museum store, Resource Centre (non-lending library), Restoration Shop and Conservation Lab. The museum's 232-acre site includes farming fields, industrial equipment display, tour road, Aviation Display Hangar, collection storage facility, and fly-in access from the Wetaskiwin Airport. A private company operates a 1940 WACO open cockpit biplane which offers rides.[10]
In the early 2000s, several vehicles from the Reynolds-Alberta Museum were displayed at the Powerama Motoring Expo in Edmonton.[11][12]
References
- "Historic sites and museums". www.alberta.ca.
- "How the Citroën played a starring role in one of the most absurd stories in Canadian motoring history".
- "Dog days of summer day trips: Five heritage sights to see before Labour Day | Edmonton Journal". 2019-08-19.
- Reilly, Jack. "History of CAHF". Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 25 August 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
- Danilov, Victor J. (1997). Hall of Fame Museums: A Reference Guide. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 219. ISBN 9780313300004.
- Larmour, Judy; Saley, Henry (April 4, 2007). Stop the Car!: Discovering Central Alberta. TouchWood Editions. ISBN 9781894739030 – via Google Books.
- "Reynolds-Alberta Museum revs up the wow factor | CBC News".
- "Canadian Geographic". Royal Canadian Geographical Society. December 4, 2000 – via Google Books.
- "PressReader.com - Your favorite newspapers and magazines". www.pressreader.com.
- "Open Cockpit Biplane Adventures". Government of Alberta. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
- Halliday, Dave (April 21, 2000). "Coasters Tuned for Vintage Tour Across Canada". The Calgary Herald. pp. WS1–WS2.
- "Harley Owners All Revved Up For Powerama". The Edmonton Journal. April 19, 2002. p. H6.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Reynolds-Alberta Museum. |