191 THE HERITAGE CENTER SPONSORS OFFICIAL GRAND OPENING NOV. 30

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Nov. 19, 2007
CONTACT: Melissa Zimmerman, 615-217-8013, or mzimmerm@mtsu.edu

THE HERITAGE CENTER SPONSORS OFFICIAL GRAND OPENING NOV. 30
‘Warm, White Winter Welcome’ Theme of Public Reception, Civil War Exhibit Highlights Event

(MURFREESBORO)–The Heritage Center of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County will honor its successful community partnership and commemorate its official grand opening with a “Warm, White Winter Welcome” public reception 3-5 p.m. Nov. 30.
Located at 225 West College St., the center’s staff will kick off the free and open event with a 3 p.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony that also celebrates the completion of The Heritage Center’s main exhibit gallery, The Time that Changed Everything.
“Main Street Murfreesboro is committed to enhancing our historic downtown as the center of our community,” said Richard Gabel, executive director of Main Street: Murfreesboro/Rutherford County Inc. “The partnership with The Heritage Center is a perfect example of that commitment. Together, we are working to treasure the history that helped fashion Murfreesboro, to enjoy the unique community we have and to ensure the future through preservation and education.”
Melissa Zimmerman, who serves as a heritage programming specialist for the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area, said the Nov. 30 reception represents a wonderful opportunity to introduce the community to The Time that Changed Everything, the center’s permanent exhibit that highlights Rutherford County’s compelling and enduring Civil War and Reconstruction stories and legacies.
“Since we moved into the building a year ago, we’ve been working like gangbusters to put together several temporary exhibits as well as our walking tour of the square,” she said. “And this grand opening and the completion of our new Civil War exhibit … is a significant milestone for The Heritage Center.”
The Time that Changed Everything exhibit, Zimmerman added, “will help the Heritage Center to set the stage for visitors to explore our local stories throughout the county.”
Missouri native Julie Lenger, who is a graduate student enrolled in MTSU’s history program, was one of two student designers of the permanent display.
“The Civil War exhibit is more elaborate than previous Heritage Center exhibits, both in scope and style,” she said. “This exhibit includes 13 interpretive panels that explain the events of the war in Rutherford County and includes period maps, photographs and drawings.
“Three immersive elements invite visitors to linger and further explore individuals’ experiences during the Civil War and following decade,” Lenger explained. “The exhibit directs visitors’ attention to the actual sites of the war and encourages them to explore the landscapes, where major Civil War figures and ordinary men and women experienced the war.” During the upcoming “Warm, White Winter Welcome” reception, visitors are encouraged “to join us and discover our exhibits, tours and other information that’s being offered daily here at The Heritage Center,” Zimmerman said.
As part of the Friday afternoon “Warm, White Winter Welcome,” center staff will provide informal exhibit tours and information about the center programs, as well as share details about future improvements, including plans to renovate the building’s exterior in 2008.
In addition, the Nov. 30 reception—which will offer visitors light refreshments amid the center’s winter-themed surroundings—will showcase the new Main Street: Murfreesboro/Rutherford County offices.
Kathleen Herzog, event coordinator for Main Street: Murfreesboro/Rutherford County Inc., a nonprofit corporation that encourages the preservation of the city’s historic downtown business district, said the months of planning and work that went into the center’s interior design and recreation has been time and energy well spent.
“It's hard to imagine that we started with a space that was a restaurant and ended up with a beautiful gallery, offices for Main Street and two large functional meeting spaces,” she said. “During this project, I met dozens and dozens of people who worked cheerfully and with great generosity to make our dream a reality.
“People from the private sector contributed time, talent and treasure to our Heritage Center,” she continued, “and the City of Murfreesboro's assistance was beyond measure. … The word ‘partnership’ is a reality here at The Heritage Center.”
Moreover, noted Herzog, “Without the guidance and vision of MTSU's Deborah Belcher and her design expertise, we could not have managed.”
An associate professor in the university’s interior design program, Belcher was instrumental in the center’s interior redesign.
“This opportunity to volunteer for Main Street Revitalization and the Center for Historic Preservation was a pleasure,” Belcher remarked. “ The renovation of an existing structure, the variety of needs of both groups and the developing partnership to create The Heritage Center was a melding of a common vision brought together through design. … And our ‘Warm, White Winter Welcome’ will be a celebration of what we have accomplished and the changes still to come.”
In addition to The Time that Changed Everything exhibit, the “Warm, White Winter Welcome” will offer visitors additional exhibits to view, including Entering the Modern Era: Murfreesboro’s Jazz Age, which explores how the town and county were transformed during the early 20th century—a time of expansion, growing urban sophistication and depression-era hardship—and From the Nation’s Capital to Neighborhood Classrooms: Rutherford County Women Past and Present, an exhibit that highlights 10 significant local women and their contributions from the mid-19th century to the present day. Other recent exhibits showcase Uncle Dave Macon Days and Murfreesboro architecture.
A joint venture between the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area, Main Street: Murfreesboro/Rutherford County, the City of Murfreesboro and the Center for Historic Preservation, The Heritage Center provides visitors with a downtown orientation experience through exhibits, public programs and guided tours of the downtown square.
Open 9 a.m.-4 p.m. each Monday through Friday, group tours and tours of the town square may be arranged in advance by calling 615-217-8013.

—30—
ATTENTION, MEDIA—To secure a jpeg for editorial use of the center’s Civil War exhibit being installed, please e-mail your request to Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at lrollins@mtsu.edu or call 615-898-2919.