By David Rogers. BLOWING ROCK, N.C. — Turning a page in its history… well, actually Blowing Rock turned several pages on Nov. 15 with the ribbon-cutting of the newly re-imagined Ginny Stevens Gallery and its “Blowing Rock, A History” exhibit at the Blowing Rock Art & History Museum.
Officially, the exhibit opened on Saturday, Nov. 16, but several museum patrons and local dignitaries were on hand for the ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring the immersive exhibition that celebrates the town’s rich history. Along with an historical timeline circling the room that details the village’s founding and development, a postcard desk from which visitors can write loved ones, and pieces of Blowing Rock’s history, including artifacts and signage, the “centerpiece” of the exhibit is actually in the back corner: a 1:87 scale diorama of the famed Mayview Manor Hotel.
The lavish, 138-room hotel was built in 1921 by Walter L. Alexander on the edge of the Johns River Gorge. Longtime locals recall it as a symbol of both elegance and adventure, helping Blowing Rock become a legendary summer destination for presidents, artists and celebrated business names. President Calvin Coolidge, Bob Hope, Mae West, Eleanor Roosevelt and Richard Nixon are among the notable guests of the lodging establshment that in its earliest years sported a gun range managed by fabled sharpshooter, Annie Oakley.
According to Blowing Rock Art & History Museum officials, the diorama is set in about 1924, back when Annie Oakley would be in her heyday — and purportedly winning shooting contests against all comers, competing from the back deck out into the gorge.
BRAHM executive director Stephan Dragisic hosted the ribbon cutting, handing the miniature scissors for the honor to Mayor Charlie Sellers to do the honors directly in front of the miniature Mayview Manor.
Dragisic also recognized the Charlotte-based realist painter and diorama artist who completed the scale model, Dan Nance, while acknowledging the contributions of collaborator Ashlee Lanier, a freelance curator with a master’s degree in public history from Appalachian State and a bachelor’s degree in osteoarcheology from North Carolina State University. Other collaborators included Ian Gabriel Wilson, the curator of exhibitions and collections at BRAHM; Samantha Burnette, a graduate student in public history at App State; and support from the Blowing Rock Historical Society, including historical materials and photographs.
