Museums are very popular with residents and visitors alike. While Durham has highly acclaimed art and science museums, the need for a Durham history museum has been the top cultural priority for nearly a decade.
click to enlarge
chart courtesy Opinion Research Corporation, CARAVAN Saray – Winter 2005 |
Durham is currently the only major community in the State without a local history museum, and Durham is arguably the community with the most significant history.
Historical museums are the most popular type of museum, with 35% of travelers nationally surveyed by Opinion Research Corporation preferring history museums over all other types of museums. While art and science museums are also very popular (second and third most popular respectively) and Durham offers both, the need for a comprehensive Durham history museum has never been greater.
A history museum was at the top of Durham’s cultural-needs list for the past decade until it was leapfrogged by a new events center proposed to develop land near the American Tobacco Historic District and the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Developers elected to pursue a theater in part because it wouldn’t conflict with the parking needs of American Tobacco’s office tenants.
While concepts for a Durham history museum have circulated within the community, the consultants who developed Durham’s Cultural Master Plan reinvigorated the urgent call for a Durham history museum as a cultural and visitor feature, as well as a way to preserve artifacts and treasures from Durham’s rich history.
Art museums like the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, opening Sunday, Oct. 2, are the second most popular types of museums, just behind history museums.
illustration courtesy Rafael Viñoly Architects PC
|
The popularity of museums with visitors is evident with as many as 41% American adults patronizing at least one museum while visiting a destination. In addition, 22% of adults have chosen a destination or planned a trip primarily based on a museum in that destination.
Art museums, like the forthcoming Nasher Museum of Art at Duke and the North Carolina Central University Art Museum, are popular with 22% of American adult travelers, and even more popular with women (28%) than men (16%), as well as the more educated, affluent, cultural travelers, like the average Durham visitor. Art museums are also popular with residents, with 35% of residents visiting art museums in their community in any given year.
The variety of activities and exhibits at the Museum of Life and Science (MLS) makes it popular with a broad range of visitors, including those preferring science (17%), children’s (9%), and technology-based (9%) activities and exhibits.
DCVB is assisting the Board of Directors of the Historic Preservation Society of Durham and the committee it commissioned to prepare the way for a feasibility study on a Durham historical museum. A possible site for a Durham history museum is the County-owned “ Eligibility Building,” located on the corner of Main St. and Roxboro St. in Downtown Durham.
Aside from display and exhibit space, the museum would also need facilities and skills for archiving, cataloguing, curating, and storing artifacts—which could be arranged through partnerships with local universities and library systems.
