The Princeton Historical Society is leaping into the New Year with Phase 2 of their renovations of the Folklore Museum, 630 West Water Street. Phase 1 has been completed and exhibited and the group hopes to get the work of Phase 2 accomplished by the 175th celebration of the City of Princeton in late July.
The group has a floor plan and has started basic construction in the rear half of the building. Vickie Wielgosh of the historical society described her version of the completed project, “We hope that visitors will feel like they are walking down little city streets. You won’t be able to see
the new adventure that waits for you around each corner.”
“We had approximately $20,000 left over from the Phase 1 renovations but we expect Phase II renovations to cost at least $70,000 and that’s a conservative cost estimate because of inflation. We are concerned that our costs may reach as high as $90,000.”
Wielgosh is not fazed by this challenge though. She said, “We started Phase 1 with less than $300 and the donations grew to allow completion. We are hoping the community will continue to back us financially through the completion of Phase 2.”
“The signs are good, since we have just received an anonymous donation of $10,000 putting our current savings at $30,000. But it is important to remember that we also have to maintain the Folklore and Stonehouse museums and that averages about $7000 a year for utilities and
operating costs.”
