This year was special for a lot of reasons in Tamaqua, but perhaps one if its most crowning achievements was the opening of its new Tamaqua Area Public Museum.

Thanks to plenty of public support, the first phase of the Tamaqua Area Historical Museum was opened during Summerfest in the former First National Bank building at 118 W. Broad St.Dale Freudenberger, Tamaqua Historical Society president, said the building underwent a total restoration and renovation project during 2015 as part of a project in conjunction with the borough, the Tamaqua Area Community Partnership, Sen. David Argall, the state, and local contributions from the Tamaqua Historical Society, the Morgan Foundation, J. Keilman Dudley Trust and others, some of whom wish to remain anonymous.The museum also introduced regular hours of operation, though they are contingent upon the availability of a small group of volunteers along with weather constraints.Phase two of the project is the museum annex and gallery, located next door at 114 W. Broad St., which is also owned by the society.Those facilities will consist of an amusement park exhibit of the 1920 to 1959 era, historical displays, photographs from the society's vast collection, a special art gallery room that will feature works of art by locals, most of which is part of the society's permanent collection. There will also be glass cases filled with displays representing the surrounding townships, villages and towns of eastern Schuylkill County.The gallery will also be set up with a podium, screen and folding chairs to allow the society to offer the public year-round special programs, speakers, showings of old films and slides and private collections.The museum houses collections of state and national importance, including the work of the late illustrator J.G. Scott, a Tamaqua native, and will serve as the repository for 80,000 images of Tamaqua and the anthracite region as captured over the past 40 years by Scott Herring, also a Tamaqua native known as the Last Anthracite Photographer.