An architectural rendering shows what the Trudeau Building is expected to look like when Historic Saranac Lake finishes its museum expansion. (Photo provided)

SARANAC LAKE — Historic Saranac Lake has been awarded two new grants from the New York State Council on the Arts.

“NYSCA support has enabled us to build our organization and our programs over the years, to the point that we are now undertaking a major expansion of our museum,” HSL Executive Director Amy Catania said in a press release. “These grants come at a crucial time for us. They represent a huge vote of confidence in the future of Historic Saranac Lake.”

A grant of $25,000 per year for 2021 and 2022 will support the general operations of HSL’s museum, the Saranac Laboratory on Church Street. The museum is closed due to COVID-19, but HSL hopes to reopen it this spring.

Museum Administrator Chessie Monks-Kelly has worked over the last five years to organize and build HSL’s collection. “With support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Northern New York Library Network, and now NYSCA, we are making huge strides in making our collections available to the public,” she said. “We will soon be able to offer in-person research opportunities, expanded exhibits and a searchable online catalog to connect our unique history with a worldwide audience.”

In 2019, HSL purchased the neighboring historic Trudeau Building for expansion of the museum. “We look forward to establishing a two-building museum campus in the heart of downtown Saranac Lake that explores the story of Trudeau and tuberculosis as well as the broader history of the Saranac Lake region,” explained Catania.

A project grant of $15,000 from NYSCA’s Architecture and Design program will support HSL’s Cure Porch on Wheels. Historic Saranac Lake brings the porch around the North Country for programs that raise awareness of local architecture and history. The project grant will enable HSL to hire a new cure porch and public programs coordinator this spring.

In addition to the two new grants, in 2020 HSL received a NYSCA Workforce Investment grant through the state Regional Economic Development Council. The second year of funding for the position has been released. The two-year matching grant supports a new staff position, a membership and grants manager. HSL hired Adam Guillette in early 2020 to fill the position.