ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
The Coronado Museum and Dorothy’s House/The Land of Oz has been a Liberal staple for multiple decades and soon, staff will be able to make some upgrades to enhance visitors’ experience.
Wednesday, representatives from the Kansas Tourism Department were on hand in Liberal to present the museum’s staff with $25,000 in grant money for the project.
Museum Director Nathan Dowell said getting word of the grant funds a few weeks ago was very exciting.
“We were ecstatic to hear it, because this is a project we've been talking about for multiple years by this point, but it's one we've had to keep waiting on until the opportune moment(s) came up,” Dowell said. “So this is great for us because not only is this a project we've been REALLY wanting to do, but it's also a good time where we'll hopefully be able to get everything together so by next summer, a lot of the work will be done and we'll be able to show that off.”
Kansas Tourism Deputy Director Jordan Roemerman gave some more information about the grant.
“We offer an Attraction Development Grant, which aims to either create new attractions or enhance existing attractions throughout the state. We consider it kind of a bricks-and-mortar grant, and we want to make sure we have new and exciting things for visitors to see and do across Kansas,” Roemerman said. “This is an incredible opportunity for visitors. We know when out-of-town travelers think of Kansas, one of the top things they think of is 'The Wizard of Oz.' This project really stood out because of that connection, and it's such a great asset for the Liberal community. The money will be going toward preserving several buildings on the museum grounds, which was also really appealing to us because it's kind of taking care of multiple birds with one stone, so to speak. We know there are also plans to bring the Bob's Diner building onto the grounds, which I think will be really exciting because I know Nathan has some fun plans in place for that and to help tie everything together. We were really happy to be able to award this grant money for this project.”
And Roemerman said she and her staff are more than happy to award the deserving facilities.
“There is such a wide variety of attractions we'll be helping with this grant funding this time around – we've got everything from developing AirBNBs to enhancements to rodeos and everything in between, so this round of funding really covers the gamut for visitor experiences in Kansas, and we're really reaching every corner of the state, which is great,” Roemerman said. “We've got 21 awardees this time around, and about $600,000 to give out this time around, so these grants have a huge impact throughout the state. We open up this grant a couple times a year, and our fiscal year is July 1 through June 30, so we had the first round of grant applications come to us last fall, and this will finish up our fiscal year with this grant. This round opened up earlier this year and closed around April, so we had only a couple weeks to go over applications and take a look and decide what would be a good fit. Once everything got finalized, we then started planning this road trip throughout the state to officially give the recipients their awards. We love going out and doing these road trips and meeting the people these grants will be going to. It's great meeting those local representatives, they're the ones who have a big hand in making these types of attractions possible. “
As Dowell tells it, the coming work will be extensive.
“The way we've been advertising it is as a revitalization of the outdoor grounds, and the goal is to turn the grounds into a place where Kansas meets Oz,” Dowell said. “What that will entail is fixing up and refurbishing a lot of our historical buildings, including the Larrabee House, Dorothy's house, Bob's Diner and the outside of what used to be the Riverside Schoolhouse. That's the historical renovation side of everything, and the Oz side will come from fixing up some of our existing Oz decorations as well as getting a mural painted on the Land of Oz building so we'll have a very big and colorful Ozian illustration right in the center of everything. Beyond that, what we want to do is tie the history and Oz together because that's always been one of the more unique elements of this facility as a tourist attraction – we're not just teaching everyone about the Land of Oz, but also the reality of life in Kansas. To tie that all together, we'll have some displays in front of each of the buildings talking about not just the history of those buildings, but also situating them in the wider story of what was going on in Liberal and with 'The Wizard of Oz' so hopefully, even when we're not open, people can stroll through the grounds and see the story of how Oz became the story it is and how Liberal became the community it is.”
That work, Dowell said, will be well worth the effort upon completion.
“It's going to be really cool seeing these old buildings get the care and renovation they deserve, because they're very important to the history of Liberal and Seward County, and it's going to be awesome seeing them restored in a way where people can appreciate them and the history they carry,” Dowell said. “The project's going to happen in stages, but even when just one part gets completed, it's going to be great to see and the difference is going to be immediately seen and appreciated. Once we have EVERYTHING done, the museum's going to be much, much more vibrant and a great place to visit. There's a lot of work that can be done, and what we're dedicated to right now is looking at what we have and talking about how to revitalize it. We've been discussing how can we make the museum a place that does justice to the history of Liberal and Seward County as well as the history of 'The Wizard of Oz' and how Liberal became the home of Dorothy Gale. This project is a very big step toward that, especially because, since it's an outdoor refresh, it's going to be very apparent the moment people step foot on the grounds. We want this to be just one step toward even more exciting things for the museum and the community. We want to teach not only history but also the fantastic world of Oz at the same time.”
Overall, Roemerman and Dowell agreed, there is a lot of excitement.
“We really appreciate the partnership we have with the Seward County Historical Society and the Coronado Museum and everyone else,” Roemerman said. “They're a fantastic asset to this community, and we enjoy working with them. This facility is also such a great asset to the community and the state because it brings in visitors from literally all around the world right to Dorothy's house.”
“We are really excited about this grant funding coming through, and we've got a lot of other work coming through,” Dowell said. “We're excited about getting Bob's Diner here and painted up, and we're excited about the events we'll have coming up later this year. And as I say all the time, I encourage everyone to keep up with us and be on the lookout for more news about what we'll be up to in the future!”
