Visalia Heritage has launched the most ambitious project in its 45-year history — a bold plan to transform Visalia’s historic Southern Pacific Depot into a Visalia museum and cultural center celebrating the region’s diverse stories and shared heritage.
To bring this vision to life, Visalia Heritage will kick off a $6 million capital campaign titled “All Aboard, Visalia!” by signing escrow at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 26 in front of The Depot, 207 E. Oak.
The community is invited to celebrate the launch of this campaign and have a chance to tour The Depot and view plans of the proposed museum.
The capital campaign will fund the purchase and renovation of The Depot, the creation of interactive exhibits and the development of public programming.
“Visalia is the oldest town in the Valley with so much history to tell, and yet it has no museum of its own,” said Walter Deissler, president of Visalia Heritage. “The Depot is an important part of that history, built in 1916 when passenger service was so important, then turned into a popular restaurant, but standing vacant since it closed during Covid. It’s time to bring this beautiful building back to life.”
Visalia Heritage has spent the past year working with historians, architects and community members to shape this vision of the museum. The campaign has now entered its initial phase, focused on gathering early support, building momentum and inviting key stakeholders to help lead the way.
“This project will preserve all that has gone into this great community and the people who made it that way,” said Stan Simpson, the first major donor to the museum project. “All generations can see what the area has meant to so many of us and why it is so important to treasure it and build it even stronger.”
To learn more, get involved, and follow the campaign’s progress, visit www.visaliaheritage.org.
About Visalia Heritage
Founded in 1978, Visalia Heritage preserves and promotes the rich history of Visalia and Tulare County. The organization has restored the chapel at the Visalia District Cemetery, created a historic walking tour of downtown, remodeled the Annie Mitchell History Room at the Visalia Library and created a mini Heritage Room of early Visalia history in The Lofts at Fort Visalia.
I would like to know it the museum would like a scale model of my Visalia office at 800 center St