EVENTS
The next general meeting of the UPHS will be held on December 9, 2024 from 6:00 - 7:30 PM. It will be in the meeting room of the University Place Library.
Our speaker will be from the Steilacoom Historical Society who will discuss their history and what is going on in Steilacoom.
After the speaker we will be having an update on the UP Garden Tour and the progress at the Curran House Museum. Light refreshments will be served.
The meeting is open to the Public as well as our members.
Hope to see you there.
The 2025 UP Historical Society Garden Tour is fast approaching!
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Please save Saturday June 14, 2025 to visit five outstanding gardens in the University Place/Fircrest area. Tickets for this annual and much anticipated event are $20 (early bird) before May 24th and $25 after. Early bird tickets may be purchased by filling out the form on this page.
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Other ticket sellers are Chirp and Company, Willow Tree Gardens and Interiors, and Gardensphere and on the day of the event at the Curran House 4009 Curran Lane West in University Place WA 98466.
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Don't miss it!
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Update on the museum: The museum construction is complete. The museum is currently closed but should open soon.
Articles
NEWS
On May 21, 2014 UP Historical Society was awarded the 2013 Organization of the Year for their outstanding volunteer service and dedication to the City of University Place
On April 14, 2014 the University Place City Council unanimously approved a five-year lease to the UP Historical Society from the City for management of the Curran House. The lease allows the Historical Society to use private and grant monies to restore the home for use as a rental or for public use as a future museum.
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University Place to have a Museum June 1, 2013
Cindy Bonaro, President of the University Place Historical Society, announced that after several months of collaborating efforts between the UP Historical Society and UP City Staff members, Gary Cooper, Public Works Director and Steve Victor, City Attorney, a lease agreement was reached which established the city's first museum. The location will be in the Windmill Village near the UP City Hall in building D3. At the same time, the UPHS leased te Curran House from the City of UP to begin renovations to ultimately locate a museum in the Curran House.
While the museum's location was only temporary, it did provide a place for the Society to collect, identify, catalog, preserve, and display historic photographs and artifacts from University Place and the region to share with the community.
The Grand Opening was held June 1 to coincide with Duck Daze celebration. Ribbon cutting and grand opening commenced at 11:30, following the parade. Member Ed Anderson and Mayor Ken Grassi did the honors.
In 2018 the City of University Place notified the UPHS that the offices that housed the museum would be demolished. The UPHS began renovating the Curran House to house the museum. It has taken almost five years with the help of the state, county, city grants and proceeds of the garden tours to complete the renovation of the Curran House and the associated parking needs of the museum. The museum is expected to open soon at the Curran House. Current ongoing work is the UPHS has contracted with a museum designer for how to display the items that have been collected from the University Place area. UPHS is also cataloging the items it has.
