American Pigeon Museum and Library

[Plutonic Panda]

• Address: 2300 NE 63rd St. Oklahoma City, OK 73111
• Hours: Fridays and Saturdays 10 Am to 4 PM and by appointment.
• Telephone: 405.478.5155

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theamericanpigeonmuseum
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ThePigeonMuseum
Website: http://www.theamericanpigeonmuseum.org/

[Plutonic Panda]

Always nice to see things like this around the metro.

These Walls: American Pigeon Museum and Library | The Journal Record

[Village]

That's actually pretty cool, Obviously it won't be a huge tourism factor but it adds character to the neighborhood.

[warreng88]

Always nice to see things like this around the metro.

These Walls: American Pigeon Museum and Library | The Journal Record

Here's the whole story:
These Walls: American Pigeon Museum and Library
By: Molly M. Fleming The Journal Record March 13, 2015

OKLAHOMA CITY – The American Pigeon Museum and Library first formed in 1973 when the World of Wings Pigeon Center opened at 2300 NE 63rd St. It was in a brick house on the multi-building property. Museum board members wanted to have an actual museum building someday on the property, but they needed the capital.

They spent the next 20 years raising money to purchase the land next door that shares the same address as World of Wings. Through private donations, they were able to fund a 5,800-square-foot building that is visible along NE 63rd Street. It opened in June 2014.

The red brick building has a central corridor and wings on the east and west sides. There is also a library on the east and a conference room on the west.

When guests enter the museum, they first pass cages outside where pigeons are sometimes on display. Then, they enter the central corridor with a World War II-era pigeon loft and communications camp. Pictures of historic figures hang around the room, with information about the importance of the birds.

The museum’s other exhibits feature pigeon racing equipment and displays on scientists who studied pigeon genes.

Getting those features into the 5,800-square-foot building was a challenge for museum curator Lorrie Monteiro. She’s not a pigeon person, or a pigeon fancier, as they are properly called. The museum board thought one wing would have displays for pigeon racers and another would have fancy pigeons, even though they’re actually all the same bird.

“Once I started looking through everything, I realized that wouldn’t be equitable,” she said. “I said, ‘We’re just going to mix it up.’”

Luckily, the board members were happy with the layout.

“They were pleased that I really did tell the history,” she said.

Part of that history includes the life’s work of geneticist Willard Hollander. He studied pigeons because it was easy to see genetic changes quickly since a hen lays two eggs every four weeks. His notes and information were stored at the old museum in cereal boxes, stuffed inside larger boxes. They were almost thrown away, until Monteiro looked through them.
The museum features a display dedicated to Hollander. It has wings he preserved naturally, rather than using arsenic for preservation. His other work is now in a large filing cabinet in the storage room.

Besides history, the museum features pigeon art. Some has been donated by fanciers, and other pictures were found by Monteiro, such as three limited-edition Millard Sheets prints.

“We didn’t have half (this art) when we started,” she said.

The museum’s collection also has a basket from the racing loft of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. It was used to carry the birds to races and even has a tag that reads “HMQueen.”

The American Pigeon Museum and Library is opened Fridays and Sat*urdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., or by appointment made with Monteiro. She can be reached via email at TheAmericanPigeonMuseum@gmail.com.