September 12 - For immediate release
Media contacts: Daniel Aument, Historic Ottawa Beach Society: 616-399-9675 or 616-304-2787

High resolution images available for download here. Please credit Lou Schakel Photography.

Historic pump house renovation wins State History Award

Restored between 2014 and 2017, the Pump House Museum and Learning Center in Holland, Michigan opened in 2018 with three permanent exhibits and a temporary exhibit about Holland’s iconic lighthouse, Big Red. More than 600 people toured the museum in its first month of operation.

At their annual event on September 22, the Historical Society of Michigan will award the 2018 State History Award in the Restoration/Preservation category to the Historic Ottawa Beach Society for their collaboration with Ottawa County Parks to restore the pump house building. 

The renovated building is located on the Lake Macatawa waterfront within Historic Ottawa Beach, a collection of park properties owned and operated by Ottawa County Parks. Visitors can access the building via the Black Lake Boardwalk, a popular waterfront walkway that extends a half-mile to connect to the Holland State Park. The Historic Ottawa Beach Society leases the building from Ottawa County to operate the Pump House Museum and Learning Center, which officially opened June 1, 2018.

"We're celebrating the end of a big year for the museum," said Daniel Aument, president of the Historic Ottawa Beach Society. "We were open seven days a week in July and August and our free admission drew on average 35 people per day. We also had four live speaker events which drew a total of about 300 people." 

The museum is currently hosting an exhibit featuring Holland's iconic lighthouse, Big Red. The exhibit, designed by the award-winning firm Lafferty, vanHeest and Associates, interprets the history of Holland Harbor and its lighthouses. Also on display is an exhibit of the Hotel Ottawa guest register and artifacts from the hotel. 

"We are thrilled to be the recipient of such a prestigious award, which comes only three years after restoration began in 2015," said Aument. "In each of the summers since then, we worked with our donors and supporters to further improve the building and tried to open the doors to the public with a few small exhibits as often as possible. We are gratified by the success and popularity of the Big Red exhibit, but to be recognized by the Historical Society of Michigan leaves me speechless with amazement and appreciation."

The brick building originated in 1901 as an electric generating plant for a nearby hotel. It was later converted to a domestic water pumping station for nearby cottages, a use that continued into the 1980's. In 1987, local residents formed the Ottawa Beach Historic Committee to preserve and restore the building and to collect and interpret the area history in a museum.The Historic Ottawa Beach Society (HOBS) incorporated in 2010 to raise money for a restoration and renovation of the Pump House to its condition in 1924. Work commenced on the restoration project in 2014.

"The first phase of the project was focused on restoring the structure of the building. This included brick repairs and tuck-pointing to the building’s exterior and the addition of a new roof. Windows and doors that were boarded up for many years were restored and supports and a beam were added to improve the roof’s structural integrity," said Curt TerHaar, Coordinator of Park Planning & Development with Ottawa County Parks. 

Phase one of the project cost $304,693, with nearly half of the funds contributed by the Historic Ottawa Beach Society. 

Phase two of the project began in 2017 and focused on making the building more visitor-friendly. A new hardwood floor and ceiling fans were added and improvements to an existing historic water pump were completed. It also included the construction of an addition with modern restrooms that are open to the public. Phase two cost just over $277,000 and included contributions from HOBS and Park Township. 

The Historic Ottawa Beach Society is currently seeking underwriters and donors to cover operating expenses for next year. "We're attracting attention from groups who want to hold meetings in the museum, and we're working with the Tulip Time Festival to become a destination for visitors arriving during Tulip Time. We will offer docent - guided tours by students and other groups from early May through the end of September in 2019," said Aument. 

The Pump House Museum and Learning Center is the historic Ottawa Beach Society’s first major project, established to support the nonprofit organization’s goals to preserve area history, present educational programs, promote good stewardship practices, challenge the imagination, network with other institutions, and enrich the Ottawa Beach and West Michigan experience for residents and visitors alike. Learn more about the Historic Ottawa Beach Society by visiting historicottawabeachsociety.org.

Previous award recipients in the Restoration/Preservation category include:

• Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University in Detroit for its Michigan Labor History Mural Restoration
• Yankee Air Museum in Belleville
• Restoration of the Kalamazoo Ladies’ Library Association Building
• Mackinac State Historic Parks for the reconstruction of the South Southwest Rowhouse at Colonial Michilimackinac
• Hull’s Trace, the only surviving section of the corduroy road figured prominently in the War of 1812.
• Detroit Public Library for their preservation of the Burton Historical Collection