How about a tour of a junk yard, or a ride in a vintage State Police chase car, or a slow ride in a 1916 REO Touring Car?
The Historical Society of Greater Lansing has gone all to find to unusual, one of a kind and flat our different items for its third annual silent auction of more than 100 items and packages 4-6:30 p.m., Saturday October 5 at the Lansing Board of Water & Light (BWL) John F. Dye Water Conditioning Plant, 148 S. Cedar St. All proceeds are dedicated to a museum fund.
Tickets for the silent auction and reception are $15 each and are available by calling 517-282-0671; by e-mail at [email protected] or online at www.lansinghistory.org. Tickets are also available at the door. They include hors d’oeuvres and an art and architectural tour of the historic facility.
Please note: valet parking is free but the building is not handicap accessible
Bidding at the silent auction begins at 4:00 p.m. with the first round closing at 5:15 and second round continuing until 5:45 p.m., when the live auction commences.
The Island House
The auction includes collectibles, signed books and one-of-a kind adventures included- a two night stay at the Island House on Mackinac Island and family Mackinac State Parks membership, valued at $585. For the first time a number of items will be sold at a live auction by William Triola of Triola Estate Sales including:
- a ride in a Lansing made REO touring car, c. 1916 - Priceless!
- a weekend stay in a condo at the Homestead in Glen Arbor
- a ride in a Michigan State Police Cruiser, c. 1974 Fiery - Priceless!
- a champagne dinner and deluxe overnight stay at the English Inn, valued at $300
- an atomic style clock donated by Linn & Owens, valued at $450
- a House Portrait by artist Leisa Collins, valued at $550
- a package of tickets to all of Old Town’s 2014 festivals, including Festival of the Sun, Festival of the Moon, Jazz Fest, Blues Fest, Oktoberfest, and more!, valued at $240
- a $460 lamp donated by Bohnet Lighting
- dinner for eight at the Harper House, Lansing’s largest historic home, hosted and cooked by Brian Huggler and Ken Ross, served by the Honorable Joan Bauer
- a Lugnuts Box Package will let you enjoy the game in a luxury suite for 10 people -value $500
Also to be sold at silent auction are fishing excursion from Grand Haven for two people, a commemorative pillow made from an MSU band uniform; a photo of Jim’s Tiffany Restaurant signed by former owner Ange Vlahakis; flags flown over the State Capitol; antique Lansing Masonic china; Michigan records and books including books by Gwen Frostic; a walking tour of MSU art and architecture; and scores of special dinners, memberships and gift packages. A complete list of items is available online at www.lansinghistory.org
“There are truly some one-of-a kind items at the auction that will never be available again,” Valerie Marvin, president of the Historical Society said.
Dials in the Dye Plant
The Dye Plant was chosen as the site for this year’s auction to recognize Board of Water & Light’s role in preserving Lansing history.
“The building, which will celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2014, is a remarkable tribute to public buildings of the 1930s and the Works Progress Administration,” Marvin said.
The building which was completed in 1939 with Works Progress Administration funds includes several works of art by WPA artists including Charles Pollock (brother of Jackson Pollack) Frank Cassara, and Clivia Calder. The building’s entrance, through two massive copper clad doors, is highlighted by the 32 ft. tall sculpture of “Aquarius” by Samuel Cashwan, head of the WPA Michigan Sculpture Section.
The John Dye Water Conditioning Plant is named for a former BWL chemist and has the capacity to condition and distribute 40 million gallons of water per day.
The interior murals represent both the benefits and destructive forces of water.
“The Art Deco interior of the Dye Plant is almost a stage set for a Flash Gordon movie,” the Society President said. The interior Bakelite consoles are a tribute to Oldsmobile and replicate a 1937 grille of an Olds Touring sedan. Control handles are identical to the ones used on the doors of Oldsmobile cars of that time.
Marvin said Lansing is one of a handful of key cities in Michigan history which lacks its own museum.
“Detroit, Grand Rapids, Holland, Houghton and Frankenmuth can claim wonderful museums, yet Lansing has no museum devoted to the history of our city,” she said.
The Society President said she believes that a museum for the city has been overlooked because two extraordinary museums, the State Historical Museum and the Oldsmobile Museum are within Lansing.
Small portion of WPA Mural in the Dye Plant
“They tell an important but only tell a tiny portion of the history of Lansing. What’s lacking is an interpretive history of the city’s great and unusual government and business leaders (one procured elephants for Barnum and Bailey and his house is now for sale on Lansing’s north side), and deeper looks at the mercantile, religious, ethnic, education and transportation histories of our city.”
To learn more about the Historical Society of Greater Lansing and to access a full list of items available at the Saturday October 5 auction, visit www.lansinghistory.org.
The auction is sponsored by Don LeDuc & Susan Coley, Angelos & Betty Vlahakis, James & Pam Neal, Honorable Joan Bauer & Doug Langham, Dr. Eva Evans, James & Kathy Blair, Beverly Beal, Eric Shertzing, Bill and Mary Castanier – in Memory of Grace Castanier, David Houston, William Demmer, Jack & Sue Davis, Board of Water & Light, Lansing City Pulse, the Gillespie Group, Erik and Jane Nordberg, the Greater Lansing Convention and Visitors Center, Lansing City Council, Chris Swope, Dean Transportation and Barron Enterprises LLC.
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