What People Are Saying

The Valdez Museum & Historical Archive is a place for everyone.

Valdez and Regional Stakeholder Testimonials: Valdez Museum Project

The Museum is here to be an anchor for curious visitors, and a place to preserve our stories and history. – Margaret Nylund, Business Owner

I’ve been in the community of Valdez for 46 years. I came up for 3 years with the pipeline and never left. Now I’m retired. I was an educator with the local school district here and am generally active in the community. I’ve been a proponent of the museum for many, many years. I’m a supporter financially and I’d like to see it grow. – Sara Irwin Goudreau, Retired Teacher

I remember visiting the museum when I was 16. The east side was a teen center, and it wasn’t much of a museum yet. Every city needs a museum. – Steve Harrison, Old Town Resident and Earthquake Survivor

We’re a tired 70s city. Valdez needs to reinvent, re-establish, and respond in the next few years, with several things on the horizon. Our location has always been a hub of transportation in and out. Until Covid, we anticipated a lot of tourism. Now we need to rearrange and prepare for the next 3-5 years. As part of this, we need to consolidate the Museum so it’s not in two places. – Dorothy Moore, Community Volunteer & Civic Minded

I envision expansion along Main Street around the Museum so those spaces are more effectively utilized and centered around community needs. Our community lacks a central cultural hub for people to connect with each other. The Museum can fulfill that role. – Dr. Sam Shirk, Family Physician, Valdez Medical Clinic

What drew me into the museum was the rotating art gallery that showcases local Alaska artists. One of the first times I went to the free museum days, I actually met someone who’s a single mother who was also there with a free ticket. That was really fun. It clearly showed the museum is really wanting to reach out to folks who are poor and vulnerable; who wouldn’t be able to go into the museum otherwise. – Pastor Katlin Pabo-Eulberg, Pastor Epiphany Lutheran Church

We are fortunate, for a town this small to have the museum we have. I am really impressed with that. As we look at coastal communities, they seem to have some gem that makes them stand out. There’s no reason the museum complex can’t be something like that. It is a must-see thing. We have a great little museum. – Dr. Dan O’Connor, CEO/College Director, Prince William Sound College

The city has its own unique charm. I think the new plans for the museum fit right into that. It makes it possible to grow forward, because it will be a modern building. The Museum is not stuck in the past. – Anna Bateman, Tribal Administrator, Valdez Native Tribe.

Survey Says!