Richmond's fiery last days of the Civil War will immerse visitors in a new interactive version of history at the American Civil War Center when an $8 million fundraising campaign is complete.
The campaign announced today has already secured pledges of $6.3 million from board members and riverfront neighbors of the center at Historic Tredegar.
A total of $4 million in contributions will come from NewMarket Corp. and Bruce C. Gottwald, chairman of both the Tredegar board and NewMarket's executive committee.
MeadWestvaco has made a $500,000 commitment.
The most obvious change to the museum property will be a $3 million building connecting the current exhibition space with administrative offices.
A 100-seat theater within the new building will present a $1.2 million production tentatively called "Richmond on Fire," said Christy S. Coleman, president of the Civil War center. The 12- to 15-minute immersive experience, "where scholarship meets showmanship," will involve all the senses, she said.
"It will tell the story of those harrowing days at the end of the war (when the waterfront was set on fire by departing Confederates) with the purpose of exploring how the nation got to this point. We want the visitor to ... have a greater emotional connection when they go into the exhibits."
A $450,000 working model of Tredegar Ironworks in 1865 will be built in an area where the Richmond Folk Festival has children's activities. Other improvements in interpretation at the center will include $300,000 in exhibit upgrades and $200,000 for outdoor interpretation through mobile devices.
In partnership with the National Park Service and the Richmond Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau, the campaign also will provide $350,000 to create a Gateway Orientation Center in the Pattern Building.
One of the smile-producing additions will be a cannon made from the same mold that Tredegar used, said board member S. Buford Scott.
"We are hoping to fire this cannon at noon every day and remind Richmond we are the gateway of the Civil War and a place to visit," Scott said.
Gottwald, in an announcement of the campaign, said people need to remember that Richmond was the focal point of a war that cost 625,000 American lives. "A substantial part of this disaster occurred right here, right within earshot of our city.
"Could all this happen again? Not likely, and yet similar events are happening elsewhere in the world. The American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar was almost ground zero. We need to hear and understand the story they tell."
Three CEOs of Fortune 500 companies will lead the fundraising. In addition to Gottwald, they are John A. Luke Jr., chairman and CEO at MeadWestvaco, and Thomas F. Farrell II, chairman, president and CEO of Dominion Resources Inc.
kcalos@timesdispatch.com (804) 649-6433
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