The CSPM staff is focused on protecting and preserving its extensive collection, exhibition galleries and the historic 1903 El Paso County Courthouse throughout the HVAC renovation. Since the start of the project, museum staff members have collaborated with our partners at Saunders Norwood Construction, Plant Engineering, CSNA Architects, and others partners to ensure that safety of the irreplaceable materials in the CSPM’s care. After months of preparation, staff created a thoughtful plan to reduce the impact on collections and galleries. This includes deinstalling exhibition galleries and moving collections so they are protected from dust, vibration, and other threats.
Exhibit Galleries
Visitors exploring Evidence: Finding the Facts about General William Jackson Palmer exhibit.
Evidence was closed to the general public on July 1 in order to prepare the space for the HVAC renovation. The gallery is currently empty.
Several exhibition galleries will be impacted by the HVAC renovation. CSPM staff decided to deinstall the exhibits that will be most impacted including Evidence: Finding the Facts about General William Jackson Palmer. On July 1, CSPM staff closed Evidence to the general public. Using primary documents, artifacts, and archaeological evidence, the CSPM opened the exhibit in 2019 to challenge long-held myths about General William Jackson Palmer and his family. These objects were returned to collections storage. Over the several months other exhibits will need to be fully or partially deinstalled including City of Sunshine and Story of Us: Pikes Peak Regional History A – Z. Afterwards, the team will need to reinstall them before the museum reopens in 2024.
Storage Areas
We have been a collecting institution since 1896. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, the CSPM’s collection comprises over 70,000 artifacts and over 6,000 cubic feet of archival materials. The preservation of the artifacts and archival materials in our collections are our top priority throughout the construction project. The upcoming HVAC renovation will affect some of these storage areas. Over the past month, Staff have been carefully packing and moving objects to the offsite storage facility in preparation for the start of the project.