When I sarcastically stated that the national theme restaurants were doing
swell when local institutions were closing, it was Carol's point #3 to which
I was refering.  Both the ESPN Zone and soon Planet Hollywood will close
Pratt St.,  the main thouroughfare along the Inner Harbor, for their opening
gala.  Although there have been no official estimates on how much the city
is spending on police overtime and other support services it could go into
the hundreds of thousands, not counting services that cannot be delivered
because of congested streets so that celebrities can cavort in front of
thier restaurants.  There has also been talk recently of placing a floating
barge in front of the National Aquarium (OK not directly in front but close
enough to recieve the Aquarium's acrimony) for a Bubba Gump shrimp barge.
All with the mayor cheering from the sideline as more of the local heritage
and companies are brushed aside or plowed under.  I don't begrudge these
restaurants their hype.  Hype is what they sell and the city should back
major investments and job creation.  However, it would be nice if local
institutions could get enough support to buy a bag of confetti when they
open or stage a special event.  And, as Carol correctly states, it need not
be monetary support.  The mayor

-----Original Message-----
From: Carol Bossert <[log in to unmask]>
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.museum-l
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Thursday, July 23, 1998 9:25 PM
Subject: Re: Baltimore City Life Museum?


>I think it would be a disservice to our colleagues, especially those who do
>not know Baltimore and the circumstances surrounding the Baltimore City
Life
>Museum (a history museum) and Columbus Center's Hall of Exploration (a
>science center), to imply or infer that their closure was due to their not
>being "fun" or entertaining by comparing them to the Hard Rock Cafe or ESPN
>Zone. I think that shifts the discussion into a non-productive arena.
>However I think there are some things we can learn that can help us and
help
>other new or expanding institutions:
>

>
>3)  Local political support.  Certainly both institutions could have been
>saved in the short term with city funding and we can all debate from now
>until eternity whether that would have been the right thing to do.  Yet,
>when I write about  political support in this context I am thinking more
>about verbal endorsements and support.  One of the primary reasons that the
>National Aquarium in Baltimore received national news coverage when it
>opened was because the mayor of the city dressed up in an old-fashioned
swim
>suit and jumped into the fish  tank. Now not every political figure is
ready
>to make such a dramatic statement on behalf of  their local institution,
but
>mayors and city council members have many opportunities to endorse and
>verbally support their institutions.  When they remain silent they are
>sending a strong message to their constituents about how worthwhile that
>institution is.
>
>There are many other lessons to be learned from the experiences of these
>institutions and this is not the forum to detail them.  However, I could
not
>remain completely silent on this issue.
>
>Carol Bossert
>Olney, MD
>[log in to unmask]
>
>'