A caution on the use of building codes to determine building capacity:
These codes are meant for design purposes.  If your building predates
the code or was designed or renovated for another use, it may not
conform to the code in the number and width of exits, stairs, doors,
hardware type etc. for given occupancy numbers.  It may also lack the
structural capacity to carry the number of people that might otherwise
be allowed using the square footage allocations.  A local architect
should be able to advise you on the capacity of your building from a
life safety standpoint if this was not done at the time the house became
a museum.

Ann Trowbridge, AIA
> -----Original Message-----
> From: M. A. van Balgooy [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Tuesday, September 09, 1997 2:10 AM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      Re: Max Visitor Load
>
> > On Thu, 4 Sep 1997, Wade Lawrence wrote:
> >
> > > We would be very interested in opinions or studies which would
> help
> > us
> > > determine the maximum number of visitors we should allow in the
> > house at
> > > any one time and whether there is a maximum cumulative number.
> >
>
> Part of the answer lies in the occupancy section of your city's or
> county's building code.  In California where we use the Uniform
> Building
> Code, museums typically fall in the public assembly category, and for
> exhibits, that's 1 person for every 15 square feet.  I recently
> compared
> the probable occupancy rating for our historic house, and discovered
> that our tours sometimes exceeded the maximum occupancy in some rooms.
> These occupancy ratings are usually based on public safety, rather
> than
> building conservation issues, but they are useful to keep in mind for
> any historic house museum.
>
> --
> Max A. van Balgooy
> mailto:[log in to unmask]
>
> Chaffey Communities Cultural Center & Cooper Regional History Museum
>   PO Box 772   Upland, CA 91785-0772
>   Telephone (909) 982-8010
>   Website:  http://www.culturalcenter.org
>
> Homestead Museum
>   15415 East Don Julian Road   Industry, CA  91745-1029
>   Telephone (626) 968-8492  NEW AREA CODE!
>   Fax  (626) 968-2048
>   Website:  http://www.homesteadmuseum.org
>  << File: Card for M. A.  van Balgooy >>