Luther Bean Museum Honored with Feature in Smithsonian Magazine

Nancy Blevins
South Coloradan

Smithsonian Magazine featured Adams State College’s Luther Bean Museum recently, to coincide with the Museum day on September 26.  Museum Day is a day filled with all kinds of events around the globe as well as free admission to the museums on the venues list.

The Luther Bean is like a trip down memory lane. It has so much information about Adams State College, It is fascinating just looking through the yearbooks, news articles and hearing the stories Kat Olance shares.  Olance is the Museum Director and is thrilled to give you a guided tour.

Luther bean has been through so many different stages in its eighty plus years of existence. It has been a library, a theater, an office, and finally the museum it is today. Over the entry we are greeted with a seventy-year-old mural called “Naming the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.” It spans 49 feet by 12 feet above the doorway, and was painted by J. Noel Tucker, Adams State Art department head. Bill Moyers, well known sculpture artist, is said to have studied under Noel Tucker while attending Adams State back in 1936.  Moyers’ bronze sculpture is also at Luther Bean.

There is a large collection of vintage clothing and antiques donated by Charles and Beryl Woodard, when they passed on their estate to Luther Bean.  The collection can be seen throughout the museum. Former Colorado Governor and ASC’s founder Billy Adams, displays a collection and memorabilia. Also there is a large collection of newspaper clippings about Adams State College dating back to 1921.  Kat Olance will sometimes pull something out of these clippings and place it on Adams web site. If you have not seen or read it, you can find it here …This Day in ASC History http://www.adams.edu/lutherbean/aschistory/aschistory.php.

When you arrive don’t forget to go upstairs and see the various Native American collections, pottery and the Santo Domingo religious folk art. There is not only a lot to see but also a lot to be learned about our history. The preservation of this historical building/room is really something to be thankful for.  The chandeliers, tresses, beams, and wood floors that make up the building are all original.

Entry to the museum is free. Check the ASC website for days and hours that it is open.  Then come to the second floor of Richardson Hall and explore the richness of our past.