LYNN — Lynn Museum/LynnArts is celebrating the museum’s 125th anniversary this year, hosting events at its Washington Street location each month.
The official birthday is April 27, but the museum plans to celebrate all year long.
The museum has evolved from a historical society, located in a small building on Green Street for about 100 years, to merging with LynnArts and establishing a new location downtown.
Longtime board member and President Joe Scanlon said one of the most significant changes he’s witnessed in his more than 30 years with the museum was the move from Green Street to its current location at 590 Washington St. in 2006.
This move expanded the museum — allowing more materials to be displayed and stored better — and changed the name to Lynn Museum and Historical Society.
Another big change he recalled was in 2014, when the museum merged with LynnArts, and became the Lynn Museum/LynnArts.
“We were able to transform both organizations,” Scanlon said. “It transformed the area into more of a cultural center with an artistic component and not just a historical museum… We went from a quaint little historical society, to all of a sudden a downtown museum and now a downtown cultural campus.”
Scanlon hopes to see the museum continue to share and emphasize the history of Lynn.
“Everyone talks about shoemaking… but Lynn, like other places, had some large fires that transformed the cities, and we’ve had remarkable people that have come out of the city to serve at the State House,” Scanlon said. “Lynn’s history is just so present in everything we do today. We’ve had people fight in all of the wars, and it goes on and on… Frederick Douglass even lived here; that’s so amazing in itself.”
Scanlon said the goal for the museum’s future is to increase visitorship and awareness in the community to continue to be “an integral part of the downtown cultural district and a community resource.”
As an institution, Scanlon said he hopes the museum can gain the space and capacity to store all of its materials and records, as some are currently stored at the Peabody Essex Museum.
“What belongs to Lynn should be in Lynn,” Scanlon said. “We want to reflect our community and be relevant to our community, and help educate the students in Lynn on its history and the people of Lynn’s history.”
The museum’s 125th anniversary steering committee — made up of community members, former staff and former board members from the museum — have been helping the board of trustees and staff plan the festivities for the year of events honoring and acknowledging how far the museum has come.
The first event in honor of the anniversary will be a trivia night on March 30 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the museum.
The museum has hosted trivia nights in the past, the last one being in 2018, but this is the first since the pandemic.
Former museum Executive Director Drew Russo, now the city’s personnel director, has previously hosted these trivia nights and will return later this month, along with Superintendent of Lynn Public Schools Dr. Patrick Tutwiler.
“I don’t think many people know that Dr. Tutwiler started his career in education as a history teacher, so I think it would be really fun to have him (and Russo) guest host,” said the museum Director Doneeca Thurston.
Teams of five or individuals are welcome to sign up and tickets cost $25 for an individual player or $100 for a team of five.
There is also an option for a spectator ticket for those who do not wish to participate, but want to go and watch the trivia for $10.
The topics in trivia will consist of a variety of questions, some including the history of Lynn and the museum, as well as broad categories like music and lifestyle.
On the museum’s actual birthday, April 27, there will be a fundraiser from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., with tickets going for $75 for an individual, and $125 (in honor of the 125th anniversary) for two. This event will have a 50/50 raffle, drinks, appetizers, and live music.
“It’s going to be a fun night. We have to throw a big birthday party,” Thurston said.
During April school vacation week, there will be three free days of programming for students from April 19 to 21 that will be aimed around the museum’s anniversary.
“We have curious creatures coming back, which is one of our fan favorites,” Thurston said. “We’re hoping to invite some community artists to do some collaborative programming, so it will kind of be like a pre-birthday party ahead of our event on the 27th.”
This is welcome to all students and families in the community.
April will also see the opening of the new Khmer Identity exhibit.
In May, there will be a guest speaker at the museum, and June will see a collaboration between the museum and Bent Water Brewing Company for a special tap-room release.
“They’re going to be brewing a beer inspired by our involvement in the community and our legacy and anniversary,” Thurston said. “We are really, really excited about that.”
The goal for this year is to have an event honoring the museum’s anniversary each month, reflecting on the museum’s history and growth and how it will continue to be a resource to the community.
Reflecting on the 125-year anniversary, Thurston said it’s pretty remarkable, as not many organizations can say they’ve made it 125 years.
“Our mission still remains the same: to preserve, collect and promote the rich history of Lynn,” she said. “We’ve obviously evolved into more of a cultural center here in downtown, with the addition of our LynnArts building in 2014. It’s really nice to reflect on the past 125 years of a largely volunteer organization that has been dedicated to preserving and promoting Lynn’s history.”
Thurston hopes to continue to grow as an organization and support the community wherever they can.
Information about the events celebrating the anniversary can be found on the museum’s website at lynnmuseum.org and on its Facebook page at Lynn Museum/LynnArts.
