David Knight wrote:
>
> > G'Day,
>         I have reading the news on this list for some time, and the comments
on
>     this thread have been great. We are thinking of moving our museum and
>     setting up accommodation units and some sort of restaurant. Other ideas
are
>     a large block of land ( around 100 acres plus) and try to attract other
>     museums to the site. In other words a museum complex. Has anyone tried
this
>     and how does it work?

I do think museum complexes work--at least in the United States.  Given
the current nature of tourism, visitors tend to be attracted to those
places with the most "value" (which could be size, type of attractions,
reputation, etc.).  One of the ways museums can increase their value is
by joining with other institutions so that visitors see them as one
destination.  This could be created through a museum complex, or by a
destination guide, or by a visitation passport, or through a reciprocal
membership/admission program.

In southern California, I know that several museums along Wilshire
Boulevard are working very closely together in marketing the area as the
"Museum Mile" (it includes the LA County Museum of Art, the Peterson
Automotive Museum, Museum of Folk Art, Kaye Museum of Minatures, and
Page/La Brea Tar Pits Museum).  At the Homestead Museum, we can't add
any other museums to our site, so we're creating a destination guide
that promotes the cultural sites of the area.  A similar idea is working
in Delaware for the museums along the Brandywine River (Winterthur,
Hagley, Longwood, et al).  I'm sure others are doing the same thing
throughout the country.

--
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 (818) 968-8492
  Fax  (818) 968-2048
  Website:  http://www.homesteadmuseum.org