Remarks of Merry Alberigi, Executive Director, on the occasion of the
Marin History Museum’s second annual gala event, Cruising Through Time
May 6, 2006
Good evening. I’m Merry Alberigi, executive director of the Marin History Museum. Thank you so much for coming. Tonight, we’re celebrating Marin’s history. What better venue than Checkers’, where we’re surrounded by this incredible collection of automobiles. In the evolution of these cars we see can history unfold. As new materials and tools are invented and innovations made these are incorporated into the design and engineering of the next generation of cars.
These cars are the real thing. And, seeing the real thing is so much more compelling than looking at a photograph in a book or on a computer screen. The real thing is what museums offer you. This is what the Marin History Museum offers you through its programs and exhibits.
When our new Museum is built we’ll be able to vastly expand the services we presently provide—educating children and adults, providing stewardship of Marin’s historic collections, and telling stories that are relevant today.
We are creating a one-of-a-kind museum that integrates history, art, culture and geography. In this new Museum, the geography of the County will blend with the history of the people to tell the story of Marin’s past, present and future. The exhibits will invite visitors to explore Marin’s unique communities and landmarks. The Museum will be the trailhead where visitors can take their first steps on a journey that lasts a day or a lifetime.
Some of you are new to this project and I hope you had time to look at the drawings we have displayed. In addition, we have packets that you can take home with you to learn more. Our new Museum will be built adjacent to the historic Boyd Gate House in San Rafael and will be a state-of-the-art facility with 2,500 square feet of permanent exhibit space, on-site archival storage, a multi-purpose Education Center and a temporary gallery where we can host traveling exhibits from the Smithsonian and other world-class institutions—something not possible in Marin today.
Last summer we thought we had everything in place to begin construction but when the bid came in $2.5 million higher than estimated we realized we had another great challenge to face. We aren’t the only ones facing this grim reality, caused primarily by unexpectedly steep increases in materials. Everything—from steel to cement to wood—is in high demand. It has hit us and many of our colleagues who are involved in expansions across the country.
Now we are faced with raising the funds to pay for the higher construction costs before we can begin building and we know that, unless we begin construction this summer, costs will simply continue to rise. The good news is that of the $6.9 million we need for construction we’re 60% there. We’re working hard to raise the additional funds and we’re encouraged by the support we’re receiving. I’m happy to report that we’ve raised more than half a million dollars in the past four months but only two months left to raise the final $2 million. We need the help of the community to get there.
Our message to you is that if you believe this new Museum will be good for Marin, if you believe that the past can inform the future, if you believe that communities can be strengthened by an understanding of each other, NOW is the time to step forward.
You can make a gift or multi-year pledge to our new Facilities Construction Fund, where your gift will be used exclusively for construction and will be activated only when all the money for construction is secure and construction commences. Please join us in making history!
I want to share another message with you: While you’re hearing a great deal about our plans for the new building and the campaign to fund it, we are also very focused on the important business of being a Museum. What do museums do? Museums safeguard their collections, present exhibits, create educational programs and do community outreach. Let me tell you just the highlights of what we’re doing to serve the community.
We’re actively collecting and protecting the artifacts that tell the stories of Marin. This is a responsibility we take seriously and to which we dedicate significant resources. Last summer we moved our entire collection from the Boyd Gate House to a climate-controlled facility where we’re continuing to inventory and catalogue thousands of items.
Our collection includes some remarkable new gifts:
These join our already impressive collection.
- From Grethe Brady, the widow of local photographer Ed Brady—we received the Aero Photographers collection of over 50,000 original prints and negatives taken by Mr. Brady documenting the growth of California from 1945-1970.
- Roy Farrington Jones, who has donated photographs, maps, postcards and real estate materials over the years, recently donated three family daguerreotypes, including a beautiful portrait of his grandfather, Reverend William Jones, who sailed to California in 1853 on the Clipper ship Cleopatra.
- A ranching collection from the Ongaro Family will help document life on a ranch in West Marin. The collection includes a handmade turn-of-the-century saddle, a well-worn rancher’s hat, chaps and a bridle.
- From the De Graf Family we received a Victorian dress collection.
- Jeff Craemer, another longtime supporter, gave us a generous collection of Marin County ephemera including photographs, postcards, brochures and books that document recreation and tourism in Marin.
We established a Community Council to ensure we accurately tell the stories of Marin’s many communities. Members of the Council represent a broad array of cultural, educational, social and charitable organizations.
We are collaborating on programs with Marin’s many historical and cultural organizations. One very exiting program is a collaboration with the Marin Arts Council to mount an exhibit of photographs by Dorothea Lange. These are personal family images she took while vacationing at Steep Ravine. This will open in October at the Marin Community Foundation.
We’re hosting Family Photo Days where we invite the public to bring in their photographs to be scanned or donated so we can build the Museum’s archive documenting the history of the County. The photos will be presented in a new computerized Family Photo Album we’re creating. You are all invited to participate and make your families part of the Museum!
We’re creating a Marin Cultural Map that will serve as a guide to the many historical and art organizations throughout the County. The Museum will be serving as a true trailhead leading visitors and residents to cultural resources here in Marin.
The pilot program for our new Museum in a Trunk has been funded and is moving forward. This will bring historical artifacts or replicas into the schools. We’re planning a teachers’ workshop for this summer to develop the stories and lesson plans to fit best with their curriculum.
Through our Oral History Series we’re capturing the stories of Marin’s residents including Joe Garbarino, Barbara Leibert, Fred Drexler, John McNear, Mario Ghilotti and more.
We’ve received two recent awards:
I encourage you to join us for all our exciting programs. Come visit us at the Boyd! See first hand the site of the new Museum and some of the fascinating artifacts we’ll use to tell our history.
- A Conservation Assessment grant specifically to hire an Architectural Conservator to evaluate the Boyd to determine the work needed to restore it to a period home. And an Objects Conservator to review our entire collection so that we can better preserve the history of the County.
- And the 2006 California Heritage Council Award that demonstrates the architectural significance of the Boyd to Marin County.
This is the most exciting thing to happen to Marin and you’ll want to be part of it!
I want to close my remarks this evening with a thought about the future—about our children and our grandchildren. I want to read to you part of a message from our Marin County Superintendent of Schools, Mary Jane Burke:
“I am pleased to endorse the work and capital campaign of the Marin History Museum. I know the work of the Museum and its importance in preserving the rich heritage of Marin County for our citizens and for generations yet unborn. . . . The Marin History Museum is uniquely equipped through its collections to teach in a ‘hands-on’ way that simply would not be available otherwise. I am pleased to encourage the contributions of any business or organization to support these efforts. It is in the best interest of our children and, therefore, our entire community.”Please join us in making the new Museum become a reality.
Just imagine all that will be possible in Marin’s new museum of history!
Thank you . . .