The first visitor through the doors when the new Corvallis Museum opened at 11 a.m. on Friday was Freda Vars, and one of the first things that caught her attention was the old Horner Museum sign mounted on the wall of the buildingâs lobby.
Before Oregon State University closed it down in 1995, the Horner was a local landmark and a cultural touchstone for generations of schoolchildren from around the state, who were bused to Corvallis to gaze at the museumâs assemblage of Oregon Country artifacts and pet Horner mascot Bruce the Moose. (All that touching was hard on poor Bruce, who has now been fully restored and occupies a place of honor in the new museumâs lobby, where no petting is allowed.)