A project that would double the size of the Berks Military History Museum in Mohnton by adding a Holocaust museum is moving forward.
Mohnton Borough Council has unanimously granted conditional approval for the plan. That paves the way for the project to move into the construction phase.
“Certainly it was very gratifying coming to the conclusion of what I call the ‘paper phase’ of the project,” said state Rep. Mark Gillen, the museum’s founder.
The $3.5 million project will increase the size of the museum to a total of 9,000 square feet. It will include the construction of new building on the same lot as the military history museum at 198 E. Wyomissing Avenue.
The new building will be attached to the existing museum, Gillen said, with a shared elevator providing access to both structures.
Gillen said the project is about to go out to bid, and he expects construction to begin in about a week. Building the structure is expected to take just under a year.
After that, Gillen said, work will have to be done to collect artifacts and create displays before the new museum is ready to open.
“There’s still a lot of work to do,” Gillen said.
The idea to expand the military history museum was born during the COVID-19 pandemic. It began with volunteers deciding to gut and renovate a little-used kitchen to create a Holocaust room, Gillen said.
Officials from the Holocaust Awareness Museum and Education Center in Philadelphia heard about the project and took interest in it, even coming to Mohnton to check it out.
Impressed, the officials offered their help to support the effort, agreeing to permanently loan the museum some artifacts.
“That was the piece to the engine that drove us,” Gillen said.
Gillen said the collaboration with the Holocaust Awareness Museum inspired those involved with the military history museum to think bigger. And that’s when the idea to undergo an major expansion was first discussed.
That idea is now on the cusp of becoming a reality.
Gillen said he has been overwhelmed by the amount of support the project has received, but not entirely surprised. He said the military history museum has only been successful because of community support, pointing out that it is run completely by a team of volunteers and is funded largely by donations.
That support has continued as the museum has planned its ambitious expansion.
“I think there’s an exciting buzz in the community at the prospect of this moving forward,” Gillen said. “This is for the community, this is something we want to give back.”