Join Tom Lonnberg, chief curator and curator of history at the Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science, as he discusses the importance of the refrigerator history to Evansville.
On October 31, 1948, an article in The Sunday Courier and Press newspaper declared that Evansville was the “Refrigerator Capital of the World”. How did the city reach such acclaim? In his talk Chill: Evansville’s Historic Refrigerator Industry, Tom Lonnberg will explore the companies that produced refrigerators in the city beginning in the 1920s, the apex and decline of this production, and its continuing legacy in our city. Lonnberg is the chief curator & curator of history at the Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science and has been with the institution since 1988. He has curated over 125 exhibitions with an emphasis on interpreting Evansville’s past including its industry, culture, and the community’s wartime efforts. He is currently the vice president of the Vanderburgh County Historical Society and is a member of WNIN’s (Evansville’s PBS and NPR affiliate) Community Advisory Board.
*Originally opened in 1932 and designated as Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library’s main branch, EVPL Central is located at 200 SE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. With 145,000 square feet, the building contains areas for kids and teens, Maker Central, Education Central, Business Central, study rooms, and the Indiana Room, a special collection of materials that focus on local and regional history. Available for public use, EVPL Central also features the Browning Rooms, a conference room, and a large group room.