Grand opening ceremonies were held Monday afternoon for the new multipurpose building at the UP State Fairgrounds in Escanaba.
The project began a year ago and will house the U.P. Visitors Center, U.P. Veterans Museum and the Webster Marble “Inventing the Outdoors” Museum.
“This is a great day for Delta County,” Chamber of Commerce Director Vickie Micheau told RRN News. “It’s a great day for the Upper Peninsula. It’s a great day for the State of Michigan. We had so many people that came out to this wonderful ribbon cutting. What a wonderful celebration!”
It was started by a $1 million donation by the Besse Foundation a year ago.
“The number of visitors that you have, just at the state fair, and the proximity of the Chamber right next door, you’re able to promote the whole Delta County area in the most optimal way,” the Foundation’s Greg Besse told RRN News. “I thought the U.P. Veterans Museum would be a great addition to the Upper Peninsula, and a way to honor all of the veterans from the U.P. And the Marble Arms exhibit, I saw it when it was up in Negaunee and I was impressed with it. They were looking for a new home, so this is a great addition.”
The Veterans Museum portion is still under construction.
“The research portion is under way, the walls are up,” coordinator Ann Jousma-Miller said. “We now, of course, need to raise some funds, but I am excited to tell you that we are applying for a grant that requires (local) match dollars. And today, I’m excited to tell you that we have our first match.”
That was a $10,000 check from Ken Gartland and his son, John.
Jousma-Miller says that there will also be a 1,000-square foot portion of that museum that will be dedicated to the U.P. Honor Flight.
“This is a great day not only for the City of Gladstone or Escanaba, but for Delta County and the entire region,” said Ron Niausto, the DDA/EDA Coordinator in Gladstone. “We in the DDA in Gladstone were actually looking at doing a visitor’s center. It was in our plans years ago. But as soon as we saw the plans for this, we said, we don’t need it anymore.”
“Because we are on the busiest highway in the Upper Peninsula, we’re going to stop people here, and we’ll be able to direct them to other areas,” Micheau said. “Not only in Delta County, but across the Upper Peninsula and the State of Michigan. We believe that we will have a significant economic impact.”
The Michigan Economic Development Corporation helped to fund the building as well, after a local fundraiser raised more than $50,000. Scroll down for video clips and photos.
