Tomorrow is the official public grand opening of the new Museum of Springfield History at the Quadrangle (members get a sneak preview at 5:30 tonight). The new museum, in the former Verizon building, across the street from the Quadrangle visitor center, will be heavy on the history of transportation manufacturing in the city, which was once the site of a number of successful car and motorcycle makers, including Rolls Royce and Indian Motocycles.
Springfield genealogy and local history records that formerly were held at the Connecticut Valley Historical Museum will also be in the new building.
Saturday’s events include a car and motorcycle exhibit, open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., plus live demonstrations of historic vehicles, including the Duryea car, invented in the late 19th-century in Springfield by brothers Charles and Frank Duryea. A ribbon-cutting for the new museum is scheduled for 11 a.m.
Springfield residents, don’t forget: As always, you can get in free to any of the Quadrangle museums, provided you bring proof of address. That was part of the settlement City Hall won in 2006 after suing the Springfield Museums Association for selling the Mason Square branch library building without the consent of the city, which provided substantial public funds to the libraries and museums.
