History’s New Future
The Charlotte Museum of History has completed the assessment and study of our operating model and made significant changes that will improve our programs: generate more access to the historic home site; generate renewed interest in Charlotte’s beginnings; and sustain the Museum for the future. We temporarily suspended public operations in 2012, in order to stabilize the organization and the Board of Directors is now announcing a new business model, new leadership and a move of administrative offices. The Museum is completely out of debt, operating within its’ financial means and has a scaled down operating model that will be sustainable for the future with the continued support of those dedicated supporters.
The Charlotte Museum of History will be focusing on a two pronged priority for our programming: The Historic Home site and Programs on Charlotte’s earliest stories. We will discontinue collecting regional and statewide historic artifacts from all time periods and, instead, will focus on our newly downsized collection on Colonial Mecklenburg County artifacts. We have developed a partnership with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Public Library and have moved our excellent archive of papers and photographs to them at the uptown Library. The Charlotte Museum of History Collection at the public library will be opening soon and be accessible during all regular operating hours for the Carolinas Robinsons Spangler room. We are delighted librarians and researchers will now be available at the uptown library to guide anyone who is interested through the valuable papers in the Museum’s collection housed there.
The Museum has recently selected the next Executive Director, Kay Peninger who will be leading the Board and Staff into the new direction for the Museum’s future. We are most fortunate to have found Kay and she brings experience in managing historic properties, developing new and innovative programming, attracting new visitors and creating new interest for historic sites and gaining new support. Click here for the press release for more information about our distinguished new leader!
The Board of Directors will also be changing and board members complete their terms in June and we bring in new board members. We will announce the 2013/2014 Board of Directors very soon.
With a newly honed vision and focus, a downsized collection and a smaller staff, we no longer need the 32,000 square feet of the newer Museum building on Shamrock Drive. So we are moving offices into the historic Alexander home and our administrative offices in with the Levine Museum of the New South on Seventh Street in uptown Charlotte. We will operate from both these locations with the same phone number and email address.
Keep checking our website and Facebook page because more exciting things to come as we move history into the future! |
