Museum of North Idaho's move to new home delayed

The Museum of North Idaho initially hoped to open its new home at McEuen Park last spring. Due to construction delays, it was pushed back to fall.

October was the next target date, but again, construction delays. 

Now, it's looking at renovations of the J.C. White House to be completed before Christmas. If that holds, it could begin moving in this winter, with a tentative grand opening in late March.

But don't pencil anything in just yet.

"Any time you're dealing with a renovated historic building, you don't know what work needs to be done until you get in there," said Britt Thurman, MNI executive director.

Despite previous delays, Thurman believes construction will be completed about mid-December.

"We're feeling confident that's when it will be done," Thurman said.

The museum left its longtime, aging city-owned building near City Park earlier this year, sooner than expected, when mold was detected due to excessive moisture due in part to a leaky roof.

It found a temporary home and opened with limited exhibits at the old Roxy Theater space on Fourth Street between Sherman Avenue and Front Avenue.

While a bit off the beaten path, it pulled in steady crowds.

"It worked out a lot better than being closed," Thurman said. "It was a good alternative. We were expecting this to be a really rough year and it turned out to be a pretty good year overall."

The museum's last day of the season will be Thursday.

If all goes well, it will reopen next year in the historic J.C. White House that was relocated in 2019 from Eighth Street and Sherman Avenue to the base of Tubbs Hill.

Plans call for an expanded 11,500-square-foot facility to house exhibits, art and educational resources and will include climate-controlled spaces.

Thurman said with phase one complete, more than $5 million as costs rose with COVID, it can begin raising the $2.5 million for phase two, which includes a 5,000-square-foot expansion

MNI received a boost when it landed a highly competitive $500,000 matching grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. For every $3 raised, the grant will provide $1.

"It says a lot about the project," Thurman said, who will lead the museum's final walking tour at Forest Cemetery on Halloween.

The museum has a fundraiser from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Vantage Point Brewing Company in Coeur d'Alene.

James Supp, from the popular PBS television series "Antiques Roadshow," will oversee its Antiques Appraisal Day and appraise items brought in by 24 ticket holders.

While it's sold out, spectators are welcome to watch what is often surprisingly entertaining as people arrive with rare heirlooms and learn of their past.

Supp is there strictly for appraisals on pretty much anything but stamps and coins.

"He's phenomenal," Thurman said. "It's absolutely mind blowing what he knows."

    A sign announces the site of the Museum of North Idaho's new home on Monday.