Renovations to the Powder Magazine are nearly complete and will be open to students and the public as a study hall and meeting location.
The Powder Magazine is a historic Fort Sherman building, located next to the North Idaho College residence hall.
Mike Halpern, director of facilities operations, said the mission was to restore the old armory to its original quality as best as possible, as well as create a quiet hang out location for NIC students and the public. Once opened, the building will be a Wi-Fi hotspot.
Work done on the structure itself was extensive; the building was previously a museum and had linoleum floors, sheet rock, insulation and a bathroom that had to be removed to return the Powder Magazine to its original splendor. New windows were installed, floors sanded down and cleaned, areas of the walls had to be re-mortared and sandblasted, a new front door was custom built to fit the extra-wide entrance. During the last half of the nineteenth century, this entrance was built wide to allow cannons to be wheeled in and out.
The renovation will include building and upgrading several other historical sites in Fort Sherman, as well as marking places where significant things happened on the grounds.
During Fort Sherman’s active days, the Powder Magazine was used to store gunpowder, cannons, old rifles, swords and other various weapons used by the solders stationed at Fort Sherman.
A full-size cannon was ordered to replace the replica ‘six ponder’ cannon that currently stands guard outside the Powder Magazine.
The North Idaho Museum will also be featuring interpretive displays from Fort Sherman, the Coeur d’Alene tribe and North Idaho College.
Two smaller walls will display the history of North Idaho College; on one long wall will be the history of the Coeur d’Alene tribe and on another long wall will be the history of fort Sherman, Halpern said.
The North Idaho Museum features tours of Fort Sherman and its remaining historical sites. The story tour and the history of the Coeur d’Alene tribe will start at the Powder Magazine, Halpern said.
The structure’s bricks were made on-site in old Fort Sherman in the late 1800’s. Some bricks were discovered with brick-maker’s personal markings.
During the remodel, workers recovered an old dagger and some smaller artifacts from underneath the Powder Magazine.
NIC has budgeted for the renovation and is treating it as an upgrade to a faculty building. So far renovations have cost $26,000. Another year of work is expected for full completion.
