THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 10, 1995 TAG: 9505100441
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONI WHITT, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Medium: 52 lines
The City Council has long been awaiting a triangular-shaped glass structure for the Children's Museum of Virginia in which to show off something. But no one is sure yet exactly what that something should be.
The news of the atrium's imminent arrival spurred a council debate Tuesday over whether to showcase a lighthouse prism or to return to the original idea of constructingin the atrium a fully operational carousel that would spin outside and then back into the museum.
The idea seemed to die last year when fancy turned toward funds, and it looked as if the city couldn't really afford to put a carousel there. So the council decided to go with the lighthouse lens it has stored away in a wooden shack.
The council, which was divided Tuesday, decided to give the company that designed the first floor exhibits an opportunity to design several options for the second floor: one for the prism, one for the carousel and one for other hands-on exhibits that would fit the museum's design.
A.J. ``Junie'' Lancaster, who donated a $1 million toy-and-train collection to the museum, resurrected the carousel idea. He even requested an invitation for the first ride on the new carousel once it is erected.
Part of Lancaster's donation included four model carousels. The biggest is 2 1/2 feet tall and about 3 1/2 feet in diameter. Most of the Lancaster donation will be on exhibit - behind glass - on the second floor of the museum, council members said Tuesday.
``We have talked about the idea of how beautifully the two exhibits could blend, and how enjoyable and fascinating it would be for children and their families,'' Junie and Millie Lancaster wrote in a letter to the council. ``It seems everyone loves a carousel.''
Members of the city's museum and fine arts commission also support the carousel idea. The Friends of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum also support the carousel in the children's museum and have asked for an opportunity to display the lens in the shipyard museum.
The prized prism has been hidden away since the 1960s because the city hasn't had a place to display the expensive lens and the museums haven't been able to raise the money needed to move and display the piece, Pitts said.
Movers estimate that it will cost $9,000 to move the lens and place it on the second floor. Special care must be taken during the move and the antique prism has to be insured because it can't be replaced, said Richard Hartman the city's engineering director.
KEYWORDS: PORTSMOUTH CITY COUNCIL by CNB