The Wrightsville Beach Museum of History installed a new protective case over the 12-foot model exhibiting the beachfront circa 1910. Matt Winkel crafted the new cover from yellow pine, the same wood that is used prominently throughout the museum.
“I worked on this on and off for around two weeks,” Winkel said. “ I got the wood, screws and hinges from Home Depot and bought the glass and Plexiglass from Standard Glass Company of Wilmington, Inc.”
Winkel spent around 80 hours fabricating the welcome replacement to the previous covering that had begun to deteriorate. With three hinged doors the exhibitors may access the model for maintenance.
Beforehand the old case had to be lifted off of the replica for any museum worker to make changes to the interior, particularly the trolley tracks.
“Our trolley needed constant maintenance,” said Madeline Flagler, executive director. “We had to take the old cover off and risk damaging the models.”
Three Plexiglas windows on top allow visitors a bird’s eye view of the beachfront model including Lumina Pavilion, Station One and the Little Chapel on the Boardwalk.
