Massillon Museum Exhibition Features Architectural Drawings

Tuesday  |  November 22, 2016  |  16:19 PM

Massillon Museum Exhibition Features Architectural Drawings

From the Drawing Board: Architectural Renderings from the Collection, a second-floor exhibition at the Massillon Museum, reflects a small sampling of the Massillon Museum’s extensive archival collections of blueprints and renderings documenting architectural projects in Northeast Ohio.  It can be seen through May 23, 2017.

“Frequent requests from patrons to access images or blueprints of their childhood or current homes led us to seek contemporary methods of creating access to these archival collections,” said Museum Archivist Mandy Altimus, who curated the exhibition.  In 2014 and 2015, collections interns began the process of photographing portions of the architectural archives, some of which are available for viewing on the Museum’s website, massillonmuseum.org/virtual-exhibits.

“This launched a massive rehousing effort, to preserve these documents and allow for them to be safely handled,” Altimus Pond said. “On view are some  seldom-seen drawings, which usually remain in storage due to fragility, condition, and cumbersome size.” 

Onl two examples of original blueprint are on view because of the delicate, light-sensitive nature of blueprints. They were often rolled and used at construction sites, then rarely referenced again after a project’s completion, making it difficult to unroll them for viewing.

Many of the buildings depicted in the drawings came to fruition; others were never realized. Not every homeowner commissioned a rendering, and not every blueprint survived. The Museum archives are limited to drawings and documents that have been donated. Visitors can expect to see a selection of renderings of single-family homes throughout Massillon, typical of construction between the 1930s and the 1960s.   

Among the architects represented in the exhibition are two major Massillon firms—the Mallalieu, Ross, Roberts, and Doll firm and Albrecht and Wilhelm.

Three 1926 proposals for a hotel to replace the Conrad Hotel in downtown were never built, but the renderings, which survive in the Museum’s collection, are in the exhibition. Drawings in the exhibition represent residences, churches, business, and local government buildings. Massillon architect Karl Wilhelm’s drafting table is on display.

Additional exhibitions that can be seen throughout the holidays include the Stark County Artists Exhibition, Art 360°: Contemporary Art Hatching Across Ohio, Paul Brown and the Massillon Tiger Swing Band, and Paintings by Isin Sezer.  The Immel Circus is always on display.

Exhibitions may be seen during regular Museum hours:  Tuesday through Saturday 9:30 to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday 2:00 to 5:00 p.m.  A visit to the Massillon Museum is always free.