When the museum reopens, one of the more notable visitor amenities will be the renovated Stars & Stripes Cafe. Every aspect of the cafe on the lower level will be updated, from the kitchen to the menu to the chairs. When we selected these chairs we discovered that we had stumbled upon an all-American classic.
Emeco’s 1951 chair combines new materials for the seat and back (molded ABS plastic) with classic aluminum construction.
We loved the Emeco “1951” chair because it’s simple, sturdy and affordable. The chairs are American made in Hanover, PA and fulfill our Green Initiative because they are made of 80% recycled aluminum and are LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System) compliant. The chairs are being blanket wrapped for shipping to reduce packaging and waste.
Then we realized the chair looked really familiar . . . It is a descendant of Emeco’s classic 1006 Navy chair. These original Navy chairs can be found throughout our offices! As the story goes, the chairs were purchased from the Navy because they had a surplus. The original chairs are about 40 years old and still look great, so we are confident that the new chairs will serve us and you well.
Kathy Sklar is the museum’s Business Program Manager.