When residents of Walworth County, Wisconsin, seek to uncover their lineage or learn about the heroic efforts of their ancestors, they turn to the Walworth County Historical Society (WCHS). This invaluable resource, now centralized in one location, offers a treasure trove of historical records and artifacts. But this wasn’t always the case. The transformation of WCHS into a major research and exhibition center is a story of strategic expansion and innovative storage solutions, made possible by Spacesaver.

Expanding Access to Revealing Records

The WCHS is dedicated to preserving the county’s history, providing free access to its extensive collection of artifacts and records. These items, primarily donated by county residents, ensure a continuous influx of historical treasures. However, the society’s multiple facilities across the county posed challenges for accessibility and storage. The solution came when the WCHS acquired the former Elkhorn City Hall building, a historic structure built in 1931. This acquisition, facilitated by a deal with the local government, allowed the WCHS to consolidate its collections under one roof.

Obtaining Opportunity for Expansion

Initially, the WCHS planned a modest 2,500-square-foot addition to its main building. However, the opportunity to purchase the Elkhorn City Hall building expanded this vision significantly. As Jim Boardman, President of the WCHS, noted, “We were going to put a 2,500-square-foot addition on it. Now, we’re going to gain over 10,000 square feet.” This expansion required a phased renovation approach, guided by a museum consultant to modernize the building for its new purpose.

Future Focused, Past Sustaining

With the newly acquired space, the WCHS faced the challenge of adequately storing its current collection while preserving room for future acquisitions. The diverse range of items, from maps and local artifacts to model airplanes and military memorabilia, required specialized storage solutions. WCHS staff collaborated with their local Spacesaver representative to assess the space and develop a plan that optimized the building’s layout and enhanced the society’s impact on the public.

Protecting Artifacts: Our Three Key Storage Solutions

1. Spacesaver’s High-Density Mobile Systems were integral to this plan. Unlike traditional static shelves, these systems eliminate wasted aisle space, optimizing the footprint and increasing capacity for more storage and workspace within the same square footage. This flexibility was crucial for the WCHS, allowing the team to store a large number of items efficiently while maintaining accessibility and security.

2. To display their growing collection of uniforms, weapons, images, and artifacts, WCHS staff turned to Spacesaver for a solution that would boost both capacity and security. The installation of the Modular Art Racks provided the perfect answer. These racks are designed to maximize storage capacity while ensuring the safety and security of valuable artifacts. Their modular design allows for easy customization, making them an ideal solution for museums with diverse collections.

3. Additionally, Spacesaver’s 4-Post and Case-Type Shelving solutions provided the versatility needed to accommodate the diverse collection. These reconfigurable, steel shelving systems are designed to boost efficiency, improve security, and save space. Manufactured in the USA, they can be customized to fit the specific needs of the WCHS, ensuring that every item, from small artifacts to larger pieces, is stored securely and accessibly.

Displaying Pride & Sacrifice

A key priority for the WCHS was relocating its Veterans Museum to the new facility. This museum, featuring artifacts from the Spanish-American War to the present day, showcases the significant contributions of Walworth County residents to the nation’s history. “Our Veterans Museum was opened from donations provided by county VA and families who wanted the items to be shared with the public,” said Boardman. “In this new space, we’ll have rotating exhibits displaying what we have to offer from individuals throughout the county who served.”

To display its growing collection of uniforms, weapons, images, and artifacts, the WCHS turned to Spacesaver for a solution that would boost both capacity and security. The installation of the Modular Art Racks provided the perfect answer. These racks are designed to maximize storage capacity while ensuring the safety and security of valuable artifacts. Their modular design allows for easy customization, making them an ideal solution for museums with diverse collections.

The Modular Art Racks allowed museum staff to efficiently rotate collections and offer visitors access to a larger number of pieces, creating a dynamic and engaging space. This innovative solution not only enhanced the visitor experience but also ensured the long-term preservation of these valuable artifacts.

Delivering Timeless Support

Renovating a space or constructing a new building can be a daunting task. Spacesaver’s expertise in creating custom storage systems ensures that collections are protected now and for future generations. As you consider designing a new or renovated collections area, contact Spacesaver for a free consultation. Our experts will help you explore your options and provide inspiration from similar projects we’ve completed.

Spacesaver’s commitment to quality and innovation is evident in every project they undertake. These solutions are designed to meet the unique needs of each client, providing tailored storage systems that enhance the functionality and accessibility of collections. Whether you’re looking to expand your current facility or build a new one, Spacesaver has the expertise and resources to help you achieve your goals.

Looking Ahead: Future-Proofing Collections 

As the WCHS continues to grow its collection, the need for efficient and secure storage solutions remains paramount. Spacesaver’s products are designed with future expansion in mind, offering scalable solutions that can adapt to the evolving needs of museums and historical societies. By investing in Spacesaver’s innovative storage systems, the WCHS is well-equipped to preserve the county’s history for generations to come.

In conclusion, the partnership between the Walworth County Historical Society and Spacesaver exemplifies how strategic planning and innovative storage solutions can elevate collections care. By consolidating its collections in a centralized location and utilizing Spacesaver’s High-Density Mobile Systems, 4-Post and Case-Type Shelving, and Modular Art Racks, the WCHS has created a dynamic and engaging space that honors the past while looking toward the future.

Contact Us

Spacesaver Corporation

1450 Janesville Avenue

Fort Atkinson, WI 53538-2798

1-800-492-3434

www.spacesaver.com

The John Michael Kohler Arts Center has been involved in the preservation, study, and exhibition of artist-built environments for nearly fifty years. The Art Preserve was created to store and display these works. Designing solutions to house and display such a diverse collection required foresight, teamwork, and attention to detail.

“It felt like the right time to have all that work in one place where scholars and other people who have a love for this type of work could see it.”

Reflecting artists’ environments

Storing and displaying artist-built environments present unique challenges. “These are instances where artists go beyond one-off pieces to create large-scale environments that they intend to be experienced as a whole rather than piecemeal,” said Sam Gappmayer, director of the John Michael Kohler Arts Center. The collection includes a house covered in glitter, a complex work of sculpture that the artist believed had healing properties, and an artist’s yard that was populated by sculptures made out of concrete and found objects.

Many of the objects now featured at the Art Preserve were formerly stored in the John Michael Kohler Art Center’s underground storage facility and in off-site warehouses. The purpose of the Art Preserve was to consolidate these works under one roof, make them more accessible, and display them in a way that would give scholars and casual visitors a more complete sense of the environments that these artists created.

Creative solutions for visible storage

Art racks form “walls” to create an immersive experience and allow staff to instantly change out works on exhibit. Spacesaver’s Art Racks offer museums easy operation, enhanced security, and increased storage capacity while keeping hanging art collections protected and organized. Spacesaver offers six types of art rack systems to provide compact storage solutions for your visual art collection. Read more about this product on our Art Racks Product Page.

The design team wanted the building itself to reflect the artists’ creativity. The building is constructed of materials that many of the artists used in their work, like stone, wood, and concrete, and sculptural timbers at the building’s entrance evoke a woodland setting.

The design team worked with Spacesaver’s engineers to design creative visible storage solutions throughout the facility including a small compactor system, designed to accommodate future acquisitions, along with oversized drawers and trays to securely store small items close to an artist’s other works.

Spacesaver’s Oversized Cabinets are designed to protect collections, save space, and provide enduring solutions for institutions of all sizes. Spacesaver’s line of museum cabinets represents the future of collections care. For museums with large specimens, the Model 395 cabinet offers a remarkable 181 cubic feet of storage, making preservation and protection of oversized items a reality.

As for the small compactor system, Spacesaver’s High-Density Mobile Systems can preserve decades of historic capacity. Statistically, only 3 percent of museum collections are visible at a given time, creating a strong need for solutions that provide increased access to and capacity for storing a wide variety of artifacts. Designed to work in static applications and seamlessly integrate with Spacesaver’s wide range of industry-leading high-density mobile systems allows you to build a custom art storage shelving system for all your collection storage needs.

“A lively space”

The end result is an engaging, dynamic facility with room to grow. “It’s a lively space,” Gappmeyer said. “There were lots of good reasons to go with Spacesaver,” Gappmayer said. “I’ve always had respect for the product Spacesaver makes and the brand is solid, with a good reputation. We were able to work with Spacesaver to create solutions that reflected a storage aesthetic, but that also protected the art in ways that it wouldn’t need to be protected in a back storage room.”

Making your vision a reality

Spacesaver’s robust engineering teams and custom manufacturing capabilities can help bring your design team’s vision to reality. Contact us to learn more about how our in-house teams partner with your nearby Spacesaver consultant to optimize space while also protecting collections for generations to come.

Contact Us

Spacesaver Corporation

1450 Janesville Avenue

Fort Atkinson, WI 53538-2798

1-800-492-3434

www.spacesaver.com

A Home for Harmonious Congregation

The Church Studio in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is a historic church turned into a home office, archive, and recording studio with a star-studded guest register. Built in 1915 as Grace Methodist Episcopal Church and converted by renowned local musician Leon Russell to The Church Studio (home of Shelter Records) in 1972, the historic creative workshop found itself in need of an upgrade to both preserve its past and create space for its future.

Rebuilding the Church

Broken down and boarded up, The Church Studio was purchased by philanthropist, music lover, and Leon Russell fan Teresa Knox in 2016. Knox, a collector of all things music from a young age, knew the rich local and industry history and artifacts attained by music lovers like herself was too important to not share with the public. Her goal in purchasing the facility was to revive the space to not only operate as a functional recording space for artists of all musical concentrations, but also as a lasting memory for visitors of the professionals that set the tone for those to come. However, with limited knowledge of the best way to properly store, display, and preserve these items, she knew she needed help to ensure as many pieces could be conserved to be viewed by generations to come.

FUN FACT: Effective Sept. 8, 2017, The Church Studio earned a designation to the National Register of Historic Places—the nation’s official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation.

Composing the Right Arrangement

Focusing on their mission to support the understanding, appreciation, and advancement of music, the studio’s owners reached out to their local Spacesaver representative to provide support for the studio’s Archive project.

The studio’s owners knew they needed a local partner that had the experience and reputation to help with getting the space to showroom quality and support it during unknown growth and changes to come. Knox said they found Story through the work he had done with local museum projects, as well as real-world legitimate and accredited projects such as the work Spacesaver did with the Smithsonian.

“I liked the fact that they (Spacesaver) had an Oklahoma presence. Steve really learned a lot about our project, and he loves music and truly understood the significance of our building,” said Knox. “He would come and see us at a regular basis and was there throughout the whole process to help with any changes along the way.”

Setting the Tone for Longevity

When Knox took ownership of The Church Studio, it was boarded up and run down. There was only one safe access point and all paths needed to be lit by flashlight, which is how the Studio’s architect and Steve created the plan for what is now the remarkable showroom and display area within the Archive today.

Once the stage was set for renovation, our consultant went to work crafting the best possible arrangement for the wide array of artifacts Knox and other collectors had to share. First and foremost, the goal of creating the space—affectionately known as The Archive—was to allow permitted individuals to walk through the anthology of each artist on display, giving them a deeper understanding and appreciation of the artists’ work. To create the right mix of accessibility, adaptability, and preservation, our consultant utilized two versatile museum cabinets.

Needing to find the optimal solutions to adequately pair with the tremendous space transformation and securely preserve and display the Archive’s approximately five-thousand-piece collection, Story delivered several stationary 920 Series Cabinets with visual doors and 424 Series Showcase Flat Files with glass top drawers on casters. These versatile solutions not only allow staff to quickly and safely change out pieces and configure the space for the day’s need, but also provide fans, enthusiasts, and historians with an inside look at the church’s history, Leon Russell, Shelter Records, and Tulsa Sound musicians; all in one convenient location and with minimal handling. Each cabinet is outfitted with drawers and shelves that ensure historic items are properly stored and preserved for generations to come.

01. Producing a Top-Down View

The 920 Series: Preservation Cabinet, allows for customization of the storage accessories held within to support items from instruments to costumes and everything in between. Additionally, these units are equipped with visual doors that offer secure storage to all that’s inside without damage from overhandling or other agents of deterioration.

02. A Record-Settling Release

Our 424 Series Flat File is ideal for storing flat pieces, including records, posters, and other pieces of memorabilia. To increase access, visibility, and adaptability, The Church Studio’s cabinets are equipped with glass tops and casters—allowing curators to protect and present collections and situate the space in a manner that supports the day’s need.

A Space For You That Just Your Style

The space now displays artifacts, albums, and other pieces of history from musicians and musical eras. Hundreds of artists have been on display in the museum over the years, many of whom have also recorded in the studio space. Recording artists range from the local church group to tour musicians, to some of the highest grossing artists in history.

The aesthetic the systems brought to the space were a huge bonus. The cabinets offer flexibility to adjust the height of the shelves and drawers within the space and fit the room well.

“A lot of archival storage is in a back room and not many people get to look at it,” said Knox. “These systems allow the general public to engage with the items being stored within them, making the glass tops even more valuable.”

Not only does the space hold memories for artists and those in the music industry, but it also can be configured to host parties, receptions, and even weddings.

Your Museum Storage Specialists

At Spacesaver, we’re experts in creative solutions to museum collections storage challenges. Your local Spacesaver consultant can visit your facility, gain a thorough understanding of your collection’s needs, and work with our engineering and project management teams to design, manufacture, and install your new storage systems.

Reach out to a Spacesaver storage expert to learn more!