SIGNAL

The Coos History Museum and Maritime Collection (CHMC) was founded by Oregon’s oldest historical society and now houses more than 250,000 historic photographs and artifacts of agrarian, maritime, and culture of the Oregon Coast. Located on the historic wharf at the gateway to Coos Bay in Oregon, the museum bridges the history of the region to the present through stories of the Coos and Coquille Tribes, coal miners, loggers, farmers, and shipbuilders who constitute the history of the Pacific Northwest region.

The Museum had long outgrown the facility it had occupied since 1950 and a grant in 2000 initiated a search for a new home. The grant stipulated that the new museum be located on Highway 101 in order to provide a development catalyst for the long abandoned historic wharf at Coos Bay.

The goal was to design a museum that paid tribute to the past, drawing reference to historic wharf structures, while also serving as a beacon for change along the historic waterfront. The simple barn-like form of the building honors the history of the site while conveying a message of community and culture. With historic docks on the east, a cove to the south, and the historic roadway to the west – and future development to the north – the building had four key elevations, each with independent programming goals. One such goal was exhibitory-framed exterior spaces that create outdoor rooms to extend museum programing beyond the walls.

The building interprets the massing of waterfront industrial facilities in form and material, while providing the interior programming suitable to a museum. Referencing historic daylight monitors, a light well pierces the ban-shaped volume, providing a visual cue for circulation, stairs, and a central focal point from Highway 101. Ground floor spaces are primarily public or commercial, with a gift shop and multi-purpose gathering space supporting the large gallery. Second floor programming is primarily dedicated to staff and volunteer offices, boardrooms, archives, and travelling gallery mezzanine. A stair tower serves as a repository to tall exhibits, such as canoes, pulleys, or other suspended elements that require the 40-foot clear exhibit space.

The building expression portrays historic net shed, mill, and cannery structures using a modern form that matches historic district guidelines with visual landmark and cultural catalyst goals. As a gathering place for small to large groups, the site connects the Coos Bay Wharf Trail to historic docks that will once again host the tall ships of the Pacific Northwest.

“Designing a museum means designing for conflicting interests. Curators want a repository, administration wants earned income, and the public wants entertainment and a convening space. Not only that, but the particular Coos Bay environment means designing for regular gales and potential earthquakes. The Coos History Museum made all of those things possible in a compact but still dramatic 15,000 s.f. space.”

Signal in association with Miller Hull.