[Source Chris Markham, East Valley Tribune] -- The Chandler City Council is moving forward on a new $8.5 million museum in the city’s historic downtown district. Council members approved a site along the west side of Arizona Avenue between Boston and Chicago streets at their May 11 meeting. The city and the Chandler Historical Society, which operates the current museum at 178 E. Commonwealth Ave., spent $10,000 on a planning consultant to help determine how the new museum would operate and who would be in charge. Voters authorized the project as part of a $154 million bond package in 2004. The new facility will be three times the size of the current museum and will be designed to better house its historic artifacts. “In my opinion, it’s long overdue,” said Jan Dell, coordinator of the current Chandler Museum.
Dell is one of two paid employees running the museum for the historical society. She said Tuesday it’s still unclear whether the historical society will continue running the museum or if the city will take over. “There’s a lot of discussion, but there’s no answers yet,” she said. The museum currently displays about a third of its exhibits at any one time in its facility would include storage areas designed to protect artifacts. “Museums today need to be built specifically as a museum,” Dell said.
The new Chandler Museum will be situated where the first City Hall once stood. In 1923, with much excitement and anticipation, Chandler's first City Hall opened on the northeastern corner of Chicago Street and Arizona Avenue. It cost $8,000 to build. The small building was home to the City Council chamber, the town clerk's office, the police station and the town court. The dedication took place on May 29, starting with a luncheon hosted by the City Council and Chamber of Commerce. Speeches from Chandler Mayor George Armstrong, Chamber of Commerce President Arthur Price, Phoenix Mayor Louis Whitney, and Dr. A.J. Chandler commemorated the occasion. The building was demolished sometime between 1969 and 1971, and all that remains today is a lone palm tree.
