>
> The article makes some valid points (and I made some notes):
>
> 1.  The museum world is highly competitive and complex.
>
> 2.  The City Museum has been open for five months.
>
> --Note: This is hardly enough time to get notices in tourist guidebooks
> or transition from one type of organization to another with absolute
> perfection.
>
> 3.  There was a deadline for the opening and there was a rush to meet
> the deadline.
>
> --City Museum met the deadline, a great personal dedication and
> sacrifice by the small staff.
> --The museum is not completed and efforts are underway to gradually
> address the many expectations and issues associated with starting a new
> venture that involves so many groups over such a long timeframe.
>
> 4.  The City Museum does seem to marry three existing programs (local
> history program, research library, and publishing program).
>
> --Note: the programs were already married under the former HSDC.  In
> fact, instead of having one house museum, HSDC now has a full-fledged
> museum where DC history can be interpreted and brought made more public.
>
> 5.  The map of DC on the floor is a central focus point and very
> engaging.  The Introductory exhibit surrounding the map covers a lot of
> ground and has a lot of interesting things to read.  But it isn't the
> whole story.
>
> Here are my verbose opinions:
>
> 1.  Mr. Harvey missed the most important point, perhaps because it is
> too obvious.  The City Museum is a MAJOR MILESTONE in DC history!  The
> DC City Museum is history in the making!  It cannot be judged as a final
> work of art.
>
> The City Museum is a BEGINNING, a foundation of a center of DC History
> that can pull together the disparate pieces of our often contradictory
> "story" that is currently scattered here and there and sometimes swept
> under the carpet altogether.
>
> Telling DC's history as a traditional narrative from a universal
> perspective is not an easy task to accomplish in DC -- and perhaps it is
> not yet possible to do.  As far as I know, no such thing exists.  If so,
> wouldn't there be at least one excellent history text that everyone in
> this District automatically recommended when one is asked, "what do I
> read to learn about DC history?"  Instead, we must give a list, a
> bibliography, or more dense works to read!  We have a lot of material to
> synthesize and there is more work to do in that process.
>
> Some locals have tried to establish a City Museum before and failed.
> Perhaps they were thinking too small.  The new City Museum is not
> thinking small--it has a vision bigger than what could have been
> accomplished at the former house museum in Dupont Circle.  The leap from
> one to the other is remarkable.  I think most people recognize that.
> But sometimes the obvious needs to be stated.
>
> The City Museum is the beginnings of a hub in a larger network radiating
> out to Cultural Tourism DC.  The new City Museum and Cultural Tourism DC
> both need the support of the entire community so that this milestone can
> move forward, make progress, and succeed.  We do not particularly
> benefit as a community by missing fundamental points.
>
> The City Museum is history in the making, not just a tableau to observe
> and critique. So get involved and help make it happen.  I have visited a
> lot of City Museums and I think this is something to be proud of and to
> help make succeed.
>
> 2.  Mr. Harvey did not interview any visitors to the museum.  Wouldn't
> it be interesting to a reader and writer to hear what the visitors
> think?  What did they learn?  What did they like?  Did it make them more
> curious about DC?  Do they want to find out more?
>
> 3.  Mr. Harvey didn't offer any suggestions for what could be done to
> meet his expectations.
>
> 4.  The City Museum has been in the making under a tight schedule for
> several years now.  Anyone who wanted to be involved, monitor the
> activities, and understand the project could have been.  City Museum
> staff reached out to many people in the community and invited
> involvement all along the way.  They worked systematically and carefully
> and produced an excellent starting point.  The accomplishment is great,
> especially considering the historical, political, social, and economic
> constraints there are to supporting the collection and analysis of DC
> history.
>
> 5.  I personally like the audiovisual show -- perhaps it is shocking to
> those who hope to have a traditional history presentation, but most
> visitors want something more technically advanced.  But IF a history
> class type video is needed, the City Museum could always produce one
> like the City Museum in New York did -- In NY they show it in a tiny
> room on videotope.  It is relatively interesting, in a PBS show kind of
> way.  Not think kind of show you make a point to go see, however.  Some
> productions may currently be underway that could meet this type of need.
>
> I want to thank Barbara Franco, Susan Schreiber, and all the staff for
> their dedicated hard work and make a toast to the birth and future
> well-being of our new DC City Museum.  It means a lot to our community,
> even if it isn't yet perfect.  (And neither is our community!!!)
>
> mark
>
> --------------------------------------------
> Mark David Richards, PhD
> Senior Associate, Bisconti Research, Inc.
> 2610 Woodley Place NW
> Washington, District of Columbia 20008
> Tel. 202. 347. 8822
> Fax. 202. 347. 8825
> mark@bisconti.com
> www.bisconti.com
>

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