City Council Study Session Agenda and Packet 2010 06 08

Home Browse Search

security, and climate control can really be solved in a permanent manner. . . . Storage needs to be addressed as soon as possible. Present storage conditions are not acceptable. . . .The site between the [Jacoe] Store and the Tomeo House is an ideal location for a collection center, offices, classroom, and gallery. The Museum should consider replacing the house that once stood there with a building that is historically accurate on the outside but with an interior designed for museum use. The 2004 CAP Report’s emphasis on the value of our Museum to the City presents the argument for why it is important to take care of the Museum and its collection: The museum is critical to the identity of Louisville. In a rapidly changing environment, the museum is the one thing that can tell the story of the town and the people who created it. The city is growing in every direction, and while the new developments are attractive, clean, safe, and modern, they are not that different from those of Boulder, Greeley, Denver, or Castle Rock. The few blocks of the original downtown, anchored by the museum, are the original and unique Louisville. G. Ellis Burcaw, in his book Introduction to Museum Work published by the American Association of State and Local History, recommends the “reasonable” goal of having a ratio of 30% storage, 30% exhibits, and 40% for other needs such as offices, work space, restrooms, and janitorial space, and he emphasizes the need to have at least the same amount of space devoted to storage as to exhibits (many museums have many times the amount of storage space as exhibit space). As it stands now, if all of the buildings were open to the public, the ratios for the Louisville Historical Museum would be approximately 11% storage, 83% exhibits, and 6% for other uses, out of a total of about 2,520 square feet in the four buildings (not including the Jacoe Store basement, which is not supposed to be used for any of these needs). Shifting a significant amount of exhibit space to use instead for storage, or for offices and work space, would be very difficult given the configuration and constraints of the buildings. The Jacoe Store, as the main building, has both exhibits and a local history research center with resources for researchers; the Jordinelli House will feature a large replica of the original Louisville and already has some dedicated storage space; the Tomeo House is a small, three-room house that is interpreted as a typical Louisville home of a miner’s family; and the Summer Kitchen has no climate control. Also, reducing planned exhibit space would undoubtedly compromise the ability of the Museum to be an appealing destination for museum goers who have a reasonable expectation of having enough to occupy them during their visits. In 2008, the City Manager’s Office requested information about the estimated cost of a new museum building for collections storage, adequate staff office space and work space for volunteers, a “staging area” for school tours, and an ADA compliant restroom (which the Museum does not currently have). This two story building could be 2