Caltrans History Preservation Committee

MUSEUM PROJECT

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Deputy Directive 58

CALIFORNIA STATE SURFACE TRANSPORTATION MUSEUM PROJECT

FHWA TRANSPORTATION ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM

Prepared by the Caltrans History Preservation Committee

"Key System" Commuter Train on the lower deck San Francisco Oakland Bay Bay Bridge, 1938.

Caltrans History Preservation Committee

MUSEUM PROJECT

PURPOSE

The establishment of a California Surface Transportation Museum, library and research facility; highlighting the development of the California Transportation System is the objective. The goal of the museum project is to get the State surface transportation story out to a broad spectrum of the population, for wide public edification, enjoyment and appreciation of their State Transportation System. After all, the State Transportation System has had and does have a significant societal impact on the quality of life of all Californians statewide. The focus will be on construction, including equipment, safety, engineering, and history of transportation with educational and demonstration programs. No similar museum exists in this country, so it would be unique. Deputy Directive DD-58, Preservation of Department's Historical Materials, directs that historical materials and objects be preserved and made accessible.

NEED

The following discussion on the need for such a museum is drawn from a paper by Lyn Protteau, presented to the Western Association of Historical Societies, which independently demonstrates the need for a road building museum. The following two paragraphs from her paper describe the potential for a road and highway museum.

"The wooden wheel era of early Western Transportation is well represented in letters, diaries, and books, and by currently active organizations such as the Oregon-California Trails Association. The building and operation of the railroads representing the iron wheel age of transportation in America is extensively documented and examples of rolling stock, including street cars, from all periods are preserved in at least forty museums. Museums dealing with automobiles, farm equipment, trucks, and other vehicles of the rubber tire era, are plentiful with over one hundred listed in the Auto Museum Directory USA. But one facet of transportation has been overlooked - road and highway construction including the necessary bridges and tunnels."

"In 1910, Harwood Frost, a leading road engineer, stated that, "Road making is an art, based on science. Although it forms one of the most common and most important engineering works that engage the attention of man, the use of roads is so much a part of our daily life that we almost cease to consider their construction and upkeep as a problem in engineering. Yet roads may be said to be the backbone of the national life of a country and the most important element in the progress of civilization from the earliest times. But is there a museum anywhere that displays the advances made in the road making art? According to the Historic Construction Association, the American Transportation and Roadbuilders Association, The Association of Construction Equipment Distributors, and others, there is not. Several museums contain one or two examples of road construction equipment but they have little or no general information or research material pertaining to these artifacts."

Protteau goes on to point out that: "California has over 25 million vehicles registered, and has been a leader in road construction having the challenge of every type of road: in the mountains, desert, on the coast with cliffs and sand, the seashore and the valley. California's weather conditions include some of the greatest extremes in the contiguous United States from the hottest in Death Valley to the coldest in the high Sierra. California's roads must be cleared of snow, sand, landslides, and debris. Bridges must he built across rivers, flood lands, and chasms in many settings, like the Golden Gate Bridge. Tunnels have been constructed in many areas·. California's early toll roads also have a place in transportation history. The potential for an educational museum in there."

LOCATION

Sacramento is the appropriate setting for a surface transportation museum complex since Sacramento's heritage is as a transportation hub. It was the west coast destination for the overland emigrant trails, center for the Gold Rush supply wagons, river boat and ocean ship port, terminus of the Transcontinental Railroad, and headquarters of the most heavily traveled automobile highway system in the world. It is the capitol city of the most populous and automotive oriented state in the world.

BENEFITS

The museum will:

	Portray a positive image of the Department to the general public.
	Educate the general public about the importance and value of transportation and about their Department of Transportation.
	As a recruitment tool, inspire visitors to consider transportation as a career opportunity.
	Instill pride in Caltrans heritage amongst its employees, thereby developing loyalty and improving morale and productivity.
	Provide an historical research facility for Department Environmentalists developing environmental documents, thereby expediting project delivery.
	Respond to our public customers by providing an historical research facility for students, researchers and the general public.
	Provide a transportation educational tool for school tours and the general public.
	Ancillary training and meeting rooms can be made available to relieve the dire need for conference and meeting rooms during off times.

FINANCING

This project qualifies for federal financing under the 1999 Transportation Equity Act for the 21^st Century (TEA-21). This program is described in U.S. Code Title 23, Sections 101a and 133d. Further, enabling by the State is found in Chapter 622 of Statutes 1997 and Chapter 739 of Statutes 1999. Project Category 12 of the Statewide Transportation Enhancements program provides for museums and visitor centers.

BASIC DEPARTMENT MUSEUM STRATEGY

Introduction:

The strategy of the museum program is to provide interpretive displays for cooperating museums around the state; and to encourage and support interpretive displays in Caltrans facilities such as District Office lobbies, hallways, offices, and other facilities. There will be one centralized facility, from which this museum program emanates, preferably in Sacramento, the Capitol and Caltrans Headquarters city, which will function as a museum and include the program's administrative offices, research library, restoration shop, and warehouse.

Cooperating museums:

Utilizing other operating museums efficiently, facilitates a wide distribution of the Caltrans story throughout the State and reaches a broad public audience. No known museum today is able to operate financially on its own. Every successful museum is supported by some foundation, trust, endowment, society or governmental agency. Therefore, it is most effective and advantageous to piggy back on the operating success of others.

It is Caltrans History Preservation Committee policy to seek out and loan artifacts out to other museums that will enhance their interpretive program as well as our own. The Caltrans History Preservation Committee currently has cooperating agreements with and artifacts on loan to; the Golden State Museum in Sacramento, Hays Truck Museum in Woodland, the Oakland Museum and the Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.

Caltrans Facilities:

Districts and other Caltrans facilities are encouraged and supported in developing local interpretive displays. These help develop employee pride in heritage, and develop loyalty, thereby improving morale and productivity. Most District Offices have historical lobby displays now. There are also many hallway photo galleries, and conference room and office displays around the state. Districts 03 and 04 also have dedicated museum rooms.

Headquarters Museum Facility:

Museum Space:

In addition to the general public and educational tours, the museum's most valuable purpose will be as a tool that instills pride in Caltrans heritage amongst its employees, and develops loyalty thereby improving morale and productivity. The location then should be in an area of high employee traffic. Prominently located in a conference and training center would be most effective.

Artifacts that have been restored will be displayed here until requested by a cooperating museum or District. Artifacts returned after loan will also be on display until loaned out again elsewhere.

Meeting Rooms Space:

Adjunct rooms used for school and other educational tours, docent training, seminars, historical society and vintage car club meetings, can double as training and meeting rooms when not otherwise in use. Caltrans is in dire need of conference and training facilities in the Sacramento area right now. It is expected that headquarters programs and the Training Office would be willing partners in such a facility.

Research Library Space:

The research room will interface and augment the headquarters history library collection and house additional books, periodicals, maps and photographs of historic transportation nature. The current headquarters history library is inadequate for research use. This research facility would be available to the general public as well as Department employees. A private transportation historian has already offered their private collection if such a facility is provided.

Restoration Shop Space:

Most of the artifacts accumulated over the years are in worn and rusty condition. They need to be refurbished so that they can be displayed. This facility will provide workshop space where artifacts may be disassembled, repaired, cleaned and painted. Work space will also be provided where exhibits can be built, artifacts sealed in appropriate containers, video taping can be done, etc.

Warehouse Space:

Artifacts waiting to be refurbished can be securely stored under protective cover. Also surplus artifacts can be stored until appropriate dissemination can be arranged. Space will also be provided for climate controlled storage of delicate artifacts.

Administrative Office space:

All museum business functions; artifact loans, inventories, and history program; will be conducted from this office.

Site:

1. Should be readily accessible to high State employee traffic, such as a conference and training center.

2. Should be reasonably accessible by researchers, tour groups, and other public users.

3. Should have adequate parking for visitors. Two of the sites expected to rank high during the feasibility study are located within one half block of Sacramento light rail stations, and would therefore require only minimal parking

4. Would preferably be on or near property of transportation historical significance

The minimum preliminary estimates of needs are:

	4000 square feet of indoor display space
	2000 square feet of restoration shop space
	2000 square feet for storage
	1000 square feet for a research library
	1000 square feet of adjoining meeting/training room space.
	250 square feet of office space
	3 acres of outdoor space for big equipment and parking.

Operations:

Who:

TEA funding requires that the facility be operated by a non profit 501(3)c entity. This will give Caltrans immunity from potential criticism of deviating from its primary tax supported purpose, maintain stability during differing administrative political agendas, and allows for tax deductible gifts. The Caltrans History Preservation Committee will provide the nucleus for the formation of this non profit foundation and board of directors.

Funding:

It is hoped that the museum would be able to operate free of admission charge. Operational funding would come from other sources, including a gift shop and food services. Other sources of income could include memberships, service fees, sales of surplus properties, special events, gifts, etc. Hopefully an adequate operating endowment could eventually be built up from donations that will ensure sustained operation. A non profit group is needed to, raise funds. Operation of the transportation museum could be accomplished by a mix of State and private funds. Private support could come in the form of corporate sponsorships, gifts, and grants, and lessee fees.

Building:

Permanence and use for employee training and conferences will be assured if the building is owned by the State. The State would then maintain the building. In order to qualify for TEA funding a building must be dedicated to long term public use. The conference and training rooms should be paid for with State capital funds. The Museum part of the building can be financed with TEA funds.

Partners:

Potential partners already mentioned above include; the Training Office, the Facilities Office for conference rooms, Library history extension, Environmental researchers doing environmental documents, and the Office of Public Affairs. There are a number of existing vintage car, truck, and road building equipment societies that may be interested in cooperating in such a museum venture too. Also, the museum can be operated as a cooperative effort with hobbyists and collectors. The concept is based on the premise that collectors derive satisfaction from having others admire and appreciate the fruits of their collecting and restoration efforts. Also, many collectors lack storage space for their collections. A cooperative museum provides a forum wherein collectors can display their cars and artifacts and provides secure storage at rates less than available through other means. The storage/display fees paid by exhibitors might provide a sizeable portion of the museum's operating costs. Further, having many private collectors exhibiting in the museum develops a community pride of ownership greatly broadening community support.

Staffing:

TEA funding requires that at least one full time staff person with museum knowledge be employed. That person could come from and double from any of several areas and quite possibly be from a position already on board.

The facility could be staffed by:

1. Training personnel who will have to be on duty to maintain the training rooms and equipment.

2. A branch librarian, if the research room is considered a branch of the main library.

3. An historian from the Environmental Office if it is deemed that the research room is of significant enough value to their impact reports and statements preparations.

4. Volunteer History Committee members, most likely retirees.

5. Public relations or receptionist personnel.

6. Any variation or combination of all of the above.

A docent program (which has a ready made support group in California's Quarter Century Club) would be important to operating the museum.

BROAD TRANSPORTATION TECHNOLOGY MUSEUM STRATEGY

If we are to become a tenant at the California State Museum of Railroad Technology, it is perceived that the State Railroad Museum would prefer a world class California Museum of Transportation Science and Technology. This concept is considerably larger than simply a museum primarily aimed at employee pride, loyalty and morale. A California Museum of Transportation Science and Technology would have interactive, hands on, exhibits, programs and activities whose primary focus would be educational and whose primary aim would be towards the general public.

There are two former railroad shop buildings in excess of 58,000 square feet, at the old Southern Pacific Railroad yards in Sacramento, that the State Railroad Museum has control of and are surplus to their needs for their Museum of Railroad Technology now under development. The buildings are of historical significance through age, use and architecture. The City of Sacramento and several developers have high expectations and plans for the area. The site has considerable potential for a broad surface transportation museum of science and technology, with space for large working equipment, indoors and outdoors, restaurant facility, outdoor sculpture, picnic area, theater, activity and display areas, etc. The State Railroad Museum Foundation is searching for a compatible tenant/partner and has invited Caltrans to be that partner.

All of the above Departmental strategies would be included, but a much broader educational technological concept would be the primary focus.

In addition to everything cited under the Basic Department Museum Strategy, the following strategies would be pursued:

Partners:

Partners from a broad range of surface transportation related industries would be invited to participate. Corporations and associations from the construction, materials, suppliers, equipment, insurance and automotive industries; the Auto clubs as well as related educational institutions, and historical and professional associations and societies, and labor unions are all potential partners. The new California Construction Living Library /Archive/ Museum, organization currently being formed may be a partner. Caltrans will take the lead in organizing the consortium of partners and in negotiating with the California Department of Parks and Recreation and the State Railroad Museum Foundation.

Operations:

The consortium of Surface Transportation partners would form a board of directors and hire museum professionals to plan, develop and operate the facility. Broad oversight would probably be provided by the Railroad Museum. This board would probably function as a subsidiary to the State Railroad Museum Foundation.

Funding:

Each of the partners would provide a proportionate share of the capital improvements and operating costs. The estimates shown above are for Caltrans' share of the facility.

Site:

In this larger encompassing facility, it is expected that Caltrans would use:

	7000 square feet of indoor display space
	2200 square feet of restoration shop(s) space
	3000 square feet of storage and warehousing space
	1600 square feet of research library space
	1200 square feet of meeting and training room space
	1000 square feet of administrative office space
	6 acres of outdoor space for large equipment

PROJECT STAGES

Stage 1) Studies:

	This stage will include identification of needs and uses:
	Further refinement of the needs stated in this paper.
	Identification and solicitation of participating partners:

Potential partners may include: the Training Office, Building Facilities Office (for conference rooms), Other historical societies, Library, Other museums, Car clubs, educational institutions, etc.

Evaluation and selection of site:

Farmers Market 5, site of a new building to be built for Caltrans.

	65th Street Caltrans Maintenance Station. Declared surplus to Caltrans.
	SP Rail yard in Sacramento.  The State Railroad museum has requested that we partner with them.
	Air space under Pioneer Memorial Bridge.
	Air space under Sutter Viaduct.
	B Street Maintenance Station, soon to be vacated by Caltrans.

A yet to be determined site at the proposed California Construction Industry Library and Museum.

A future, yet to be determined, site in West Sacramento where a new Caltrans Laboratory is to be built.

Stage 8) Occupy:  This stage will include building of interpretive displays, furnishing, equipping and moving in.