Stewart Indian School Museum and Cultural Center

The Stewart Indian School is a National Register of Historic Places site. A condition of transfer from the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs to the State of Nevada was that Buildings 1 and 3 would house memorabilia of the school. The deed states “The State of Nevada wishing to perpetuate the 90-year history of the Stewart Indian School will reserve Building 1 and Building 3 to house and display the crafts, artifacts and the memorabilia relating to the Stewart Indian School.”

The project executes the historic rehabilitation of the Stewart Facility Buildings 1 and 2 for the Stewart Indian School Cultural Center and Museum, and Welcome Center. The Cultural Center and Museum is housed in Building 1, which is the original Administration Office. The Cultural Center and Museum displays memorabilia, houses interpretive exhibits, celebrates Native American arts, and will tell the story of the Stewart Indian School. The Welcome Center is located in Building 2, the original Post Office. The Welcome Center will be an orientation point for visitors for guided and self-guided tours, along with assistance with understanding the history of the Stewart Indian School.

The Cultural Center and Museum is a two-story building with a partial basement. The existing roof and floors are wood framed. The exterior bearing walls are of unreinforced stone masonry construction. Inte-rior conditions are a combination of unreinforced stone masonry walls, wood stud walls, and wood post and beam systems.

The rehabilitation concept is to leave the exterior appearance as it looked throughout the Period of Significance. The historic masonry walls remain as they existed. All windows are historic. Steel windows have been repainted. Wood windows have been rehabilitated and painted.

The interior concept is to leave the main public historic spaces intact. Contemporary hardwood flooring has replaced the historic wood flooring that was in poor condition and had to be removed. Contemporary exhibit galleries, contemplation areas, retail/gallery and strytelling spaces have been inserted into the historic fabric of the building.

A major part of the project is the seismic retrofit of the building structure. The seismic work was extensive, but was woven into the interior rehabiliation as seammlesly as possible. The structural retrofit includes anchoring the walls to the 1st floor diaphragm, 1st floor and 2nd floor strenthening to support the high floor loads required for museum type occupancy, and strengthening existing shear and bearing walls where required.

The mechanical and electrical systems have been strategically placed within the historic building’s framework as well. There was very little ceiling space for the mechanical system. This led to a combination of packaged units and a variable refrigerant flow system. This VRF system allowed units to be installed within the rooms and only required refrigerant tubing to be routed in the limited ceiling and wall spaces. Electrical systems were similarly designed for minimal concealed space. A highly flexible track system provides lighting and power in exhibit areas.

The final development of the Cultral Center and Museum and Welcome Center fully realized the concept of leaving the majority of the historic building components and character-defining features in place. The buildings were significantly improved from structural and life safety perspectives. Contemporary work improved the appearance, functionality and accessibility of the buildings. The project also created a framework for the installation of the interpretive exhibits in the Museum.

The Cultural Center and Museum and Welcome Centers are the first pieces in a long-term vision to restore the Stewart Indian School campus for use and enjoyment by the entire Carson City community and the region. The sensitive historic preservation work produced by the entire stakeholder group insured the buildings will be able to tell the fascinating story of Stewart Indian School well into the future.

Owner
State of Nevada Public Works

Size
7,098 SF Cultural Center; 230 SF Welcome Center

Completion Date
2019