Museum begins new pavilion

Davis Moralez and crew preserve park cactus

Cacti are being moved for safekeeping, and ground is being readied for construction of the Desert Caballeros Western Museum‘s new Charles T. Klein Pavilion to be located on what has been historically known as Wickenburg’s “million dollar corner.”

Described as a future cultural crossroads both for the Museum and the community, the new pavilion will be at the very heart of downtown Wickenburg where Highway 60, or the Old California Highway, meets two other popular highways - roads to Prescott and Las Vegas.

For decades, the convergence of these three major highways has served as a crossroads for hundreds of thousands of travelers heading north and west. Now a more symbolic crossroads is being built on the same corner - one that will take advantage of Wickenburg’s long history and diversity.

When completed, visitors to the new Klein Pavilion will find at center stage a stagecoach that traveled the area’s roadways long before they were ever paved. First known as the Wickenburg Stage, and later the Flying E Stage, the colorful coach ferried dude ranch guests between Wickenburg’s train station and the Flying E Ranch for decades.

Donated to the Museum in 1979 by the ranch’s owner Vi Wellik, the new stage- coach exhibit is being underwritten by the Wellik Foundation. The foundation is also helping to underwrite an exhibit of “miniature histories,” or dioramas, that tell the story of Wickenburg and the surrounding Sonoran desert. The diorama exhibit is thought to be the State of Arizona’s first example of a “history in public places” project.

Named for longtime board member and patron of the Museum, Charles T. Klein of Oklahoma City and formerly of Wickenburg, construction of the new cultural crossroads pavilion has also been underwritten by the Charles A. Frueauff Foundation.

The Orcutt/Winslow Partnership of Phoenix is the architectural firm for the project, with principal Herman Orcutt -- also a Museum Trustee -- offering his own personal assistance. Frost Construction and Development Co. is builder of the pavilion, with participation from Wickenburg-area subcontractors.

The Desert Caballeros Western Museum has plans for a major celebration and grand opening of the Charles T. Klein Pavilion on Jan. 26. There will be day-long activities including a special Will Rogers performance, followed that evening by the Museum’s annual “Wild West Casino Night.”

Other events scheduled for the new Klein Pavilion include a “Retro Western Movie Festival” in the spring; and in cooperation with the Wickenburg Chamber of Commerce and funded in part by the Arizona Commission on the Arts, two town-wide, heritage events. One will be a toast to Wickenburg’s 145th birthday on March 8 and the other will be a “Hassayampa River Celebration” on April 5, an opportunity for Wickenburg’s multi-generational families to come together, and to register their family’s heritage into the Museum’s archives. The family archives project is being undertaken by the Museum’s History Committee, re-energized this year by current Chairman of the Board and Arizona Culture Keeper Jeri Robson.

“The Charles T. Klein Pavilion is an important addition to the campus of ‘Arizona’s Most Western Museum,’” said Executive Director Royce Kardinal. “It will not only serve as a new cultural crossroads for Wickenburg, but will offer us the opportunity to take history out of the walls of the Museum for the benefit of both those who live here and those who are traveling through.”

With its ranch-like architecture built to reflect Wickenburg’s western lifestyle, the 4,000-square foot Charles T. Klein Pavilion will also be available to other local organizations for community events. And the Museum Park, previously located on the property, will be re-landscaped. Local saguaro specialist David Moralez and his crew plan to replant the cacti that are now resting off site during construction, along with other native trees and plants.

The Desert Caballeros Western Museum, recently named “2007-2008 Western Museum of the Year” is located at 21 North Frontier Street in Wickenburg. It plays host to more than 52,000 visitors annually, and is open daily.

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