New Victory Center Project Begins Early Next Year

By Amber Lester Kennedy Wednesday, November 30, 2011

It’s been six months since Governor Bob McDonnell announced the state would offer $41 million in bonds to fund a new Yorktown Victory Center. At its semi-annual meeting on Tuesday, the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation Board of Trustees learned how the project will proceed after breaking ground early next year.

The Foundation began planning the project in 2007, which is intended to become the only museum in the United States focused on the entire American Revolution, rather than just on the decisive victory in Yorktown. The 80,000-square-foot center will feature expanded exhibition galleries, classrooms and support functions, along with a reorganization of the Victory Center’s 22-acre site. The center has already been designed, but a construction contract has not been awarded.

JYF Deputy Executive Director of Administration Jeff Lunsford explained how the project will proceed in phases, starting early next year with an estimated completion date of 2018. The existing Victory Center will remain open for the first phases of the project, until the exhibits can begin being moved to the new building. At that time, the museum will be open only with a limited display, a timeline of the project and a video for visitors. From that point, it is expected to take about 18 months to complete the construction of the exhibits.

Lunsford said the Victory Center will face some unique challenges during the construction process. He said they will not be able to operate both the new and old facilities at the same time, due to the cost. The new museum will be open, but limited in its scope, for the first 18 months after its construction. The Foundation also wants to avoid devoting money or space to constructing temporary structures.

Museum access will present another challenge; the site only has one way to enter and leave. As the project moves forward, parking will also be reduced and the noise levels of construction will add some distractions, he said. Finally, construction fencing will have to be erected for public safety, but also to build excitement about the project.

In the six months of construction, the parking area on the Water Street (northern) side of the property will be demolished, reconstructed and enlarged. During that time, the pavilions between the visitor orientation building and the gallery building will be demolished, along with 82 of the 161 parking spaces. All buildings and interpretive areas will remain open to visitors.

The second, longer phase of 20 months will include the demolition of the remaining parking lot, the construction of the new museum and the addition of more parking spaces. Although the farm site will be reduced by 20 percent, the existing facilities will remain open.

In the third phase, expected to last six months after a three-month hiatus, the new museum building will open with the limited display. In that time, the current visitor orientation, gallery and maintenance buildings will be demolished and the picnic area and new farm site will be brought up to grade.

Finally, the new exhibits will be installed, a new introductory film will be completed and the outdoor areas will be relocated and expanded. The final phase is expected to take 18 months to fully complete.

Exhibits to Explore Revolution

Senior Director of Museum Operations and Education Joseph Gutierrez told the trustees the museum has managed to acquire 50 percent of the artifacts needed for the new facility. The artifacts already in the collection include an eight-foot-tall oil portrait of King George III, a first edition work by slave and poet Phyllis Wheatley, a star pin worn by George Washington and furniture from the era.

The museum’s exhibits will explore five themes: the British Empire and America; the changing relationship between Britain and North America; the revolution; the new nation; and the American people. (Read more about the exhibits here.)

The exhibits will include a recreated wharf environment, where visitors will learn about trade, and have the chance to experience the Siege of Yorktown in a new movie display that will incorporate moving seats, smoke and other special effects to help convey the events. Every aspect of the days leading up to and following the Revolution will be discussed, including the experiences of Indians and African Americans and the westward migration that followed the war.

Partnership with VMFA

The trustees also had an opportunity Tuesday evening to explore an exhibit curated by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts through a new partnership with the Jamestown Settlement.

The new partnership invited the museum to pull works from its archives to display in an exhibit called, “The 17th Century: Gateway to the Modern World.” The show focuses on the new opportunities brought by trade and colonization in the 17th century, with artworks from around the globe, all created during that time period. The exhibit explores the conquest of the Atlantic, religious conflicts in the Catholic church, the Enlightenment, new trade routes and products, a booming interest in silver and a variety of portraits, including one of William Byrd I. The exhibit will be on display at the Settlement until Aug. 15, 2012.