by Chris Lareau
If a suggestion by Warren Landmarks Director Allan MacIntosh proves fruitful the first exhibit at the Allegheny Musarium may not be inside the building at all. At a meeting attended by more than 70 local residents, MacIntosh recommended supplying the facility's energy needs by operating a natural gas well right on the 30-acre property in Starbrick, just outside of Warren, Pennsylvania.
Area residents and business and government leaders attended a first planning meeting for the Allegheny Musarium on June 3 at the Conewango Club ballrooom in Warren. Construction is planned to begin in 2012 for the $100 million nature and culture complex overlooking the Allegheny River in Starbrick, Pennsylvania.
As part of a "living museum" theme, a natural gas well on site might draw visitors and donors interested in the technology and save big bucks for the long range costs of the proposed $100 million discovery and activity center now in its first stages of fund raising. Many homes in the Warren area already obtain natural gas from leased wells for an economic advantage unavailable any where else in the United States.
A source close to Allegheny Almanac has speculated that there may already be a couple of inactive wells on the Musarium property, so costs to activate a working well for visitors may be reduced. Musarium Director Nancy Mooney was impressed by MacIntosh's suggestion and told the audience that it is something she will investigate for the educational and monetary rewards it might provide. It might make the Allegheny Musarium the first tourist attraction in the country that makes its own energy.
Such an outdoor exhibit could also provide an opportunity to demonstrate a proper relationship between industry and nature in northwestern Pennsylvania, which has traditionally relied on timbering, natural gas, and oil as staples of its local economy. The architectural firm engaged for the project, Cambridge 7 Associates, has a venerable history of green design on projects around the world.
The initial stage of the fundraising campaign involves a $100,000 goal from local businesses to formally hire architects and exhibit planners. From this start, the Allegheny Musarium hopes to engage professional fundraising experts to draw on national and international philanthropic interests to tell the story of American industry, culture, and nature on the Allegheny River and the Allegheny National Forest.
Warren, Pennsylvania is the home of Pennsylvania General Energy, which recently opened a new headquarters downtown on Market Street. The firm specializes in leases with several thousand landowners and takes great pride in the integrity of its leasing program and the people responsible for dealing with landowners. A showcase exhibit at the Allegheny Musarium would not only boost attendance but help build local business that many people do not understand. The local area is filled with retired and active experts in geology and drilling who might have an interest in supporting a community project like this.
Another advantage for such a project is that it could be started immediately if there were sufficient donations in goods, services, and expertise to extract the energy. The Musarium could use the well to highlight its attractiveness to prospective visitors and donors as part of its general fundraising campaign and ongoing educational activities.
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