NEWBURYPORT — Aided by superb late summer weather, more than 200 people attended Sunday’s official opening of the Museum of Old Newbury’s Perkins Art & Research Center located off Fruit Street within the museum’s campus.
In the company of 217 community members and museum supporters, museum co-President William Quigley and Executive Director Bethany Groff Dorau cut the ribbon on the center provided by the Greater Newburyport Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
“It was an amazing turnout to celebrate the opening,” Chamber Vice President Tom Rosa said when reached Tuesday.
Built in 1808 and the former printing plant of inventor Jacob Perkins, the Perkins Perkins Art & Research Center will be home to the museum’s archive, library and fine art collections.
Preparations for the grand opening began three months ago when archival material was moved there.
“Literally thousands of pounds of weight have been lifted from the museum, and there is room to move and grow,” Groff Dorau said, also on Tuesday.
The building contains three floors and each one has a different designated purpose. The first floor contains climate-controlled archival units, the second offers a research and rare books library and study area, and the third features storage racks.
The museum acquired the space, located at 98 High St., behind 18 Fruit St., in 2007 after the building was nearly developed into apartments. In 2017, Perkins debuted its first exhibit, “Captains and Currency”, showcasing Brown and Perkins family histories, but most of the space remained underutilized.
Since then, the museum invested approximately $240,000, including previous Community Preservation Act grants, on structural stabilization, masonry restoration, and fitting the building with electricity, a security system and an HVAC system. In 2023, the museum received Community Preservation Committee funding of $210,251 for a lateral art storage system for the third floor of the Perkins building, according to city records.
Local historian and former museum director Ellie Bailey, who was at Sunday’s ceremony, said preserving the Perkins building had been on the museum’s wish list since the late 1980s when she was leading it.
“Now over 35 years later, the building has not only been preserved, but has a new life as a much needed archive and painting storage facility. It’s not often that one sees a dream become a reality so I was happy to join in the celebration. I was also happy for friends in the local history and preservation community who worked long and hard to repurpose the mint and wanted to show my appreciation” Bailey said.
Attendees, including Mayor Sean Reardon, enjoyed pie and ice cream in the museum garden and tours of all three floors in the new building, which will open in September to the public.
Reardon heaped praise on Groff Dorau and museum volunteers and called the Perkins center a “wonderful addition” to the museum’s campus.
“Bethany does such an amazing job at the Museum of Old Newbury. We are lucky to have her in our community,” Reardon said.
The Museum of Old Newbury is open for tours Thursday to Sunday until mid-October.
For more information and updates about Perkins opening dates and times, visit: NewburyHistory.org
Daily News reporter Caitlin Dee contributed to this story.
Dave Rogers is the editor of the Daily News of Newburyport. Email him at: drogers@newburyportnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @drogers41008.