Squaw Valley Olympic Museum

“While there is broad consensus that Tahoe, and Squaw Valley specifically, needs a first-rate Olympic museum, there is disagreement over where the museum should be located” according to an article in Moonshine Ink. Existing museums in Tahoe City and at Donner Summit do not completely and accurately represent the monumental, landmark event of the Squaw Valley Games in 1960. Many “firsts” were accomplished at the games including the first Winter Olympics held in the Western United States, the first nationally televised Olympics in the US, and more. In the above-mentioned article in Moonshine Ink, Eddy Ancinas, a member of the Squaw Valley Ski Museum Foundation Board said “We are the only place in the world that has had the Olympics that doesn’t have an Olympic Museum.”

While six potential sites were identified, the Museum Board had requirements which ruled out some of those sites. Those requirements include visibility from the highway and that the museum represents all the Sierra ski resorts rather than Squaw Valley exclusively. The two remaining sites are the Squaw Valley Park and the Poulsen property behind the 7-Eleven. While the Foundation prefers the park location, opposition has arisen from local residents who believe that “a museum doesn’t fit with the park’s intent which is for recreation and community,” according to resident Ed Heneveld in the Moonshine Ink article. Ultimately the Poulsen property was eliminated because of a power substation and easements on the property. Placer County also rejected the location because its portion of the land was too small for the museum, and the Poulsens had no desire to sell.

The history of the park is also cited by Heneveld as a reason for opposition to the location.  The 35-acre park was created by an act of Congress after many year of lobbying.  “Congress authorized the U.S. Forest Service to sell the land to Placer County, legislation that was signed by President Bill Clinton.”  The park land came with deed restrictions for summer-only usage and non-commercial uses.  Heneveld asks “how can a museum be financially viable if it can’t have commercial operations?”  Click here to read the entire Moonshine Ink article.