Innovation in preservation

The preservation of a large and complex museum vessel is often demanding work in building good practices and beneficial networks among specialists, supporters, and the community. The grain elevator “Stadsgraanzuiger 19” that can be visited either at Maritime Museum Rotterdam or Museum aan de Stroom in Antwerp is a case in point. It’s story exemplifies that challenges in museum collections and research work to permanently preserve such a spectacular and massive machine. In this article Richard Velthuizen revisits the history of grain elevators, the socio-technical change at Rotterdam port, and the preservation and cultural heritage efforts in saving this historic elevator. He also unentangles the social process with which the large, floating machine has been preserved.