Arts & Entertainment  January 21, 2016

Buoyed by fundraising milestones, Boulder museum to move, rebrand

BOULDER — The Boulder History Museum soon will begin remodeling the Masonic Lodge on Broadway, with plans to move there and open the larger, rebranded “Museum of Boulder” by late next year.

Museum officials announced Thursday that they had reached key milestones in their $8.2 million fundraising campaign. They said they have raised more than $4 million so far, which will lead to the release of the first $2.5 million in matching funds from the city of Boulder. In November 2014, Boulder voters approved a three-year, 0.3 percent sales tax to support community, culture and safety, a tax that is expected to raise more than $4 million that will be matched with funds raised by the museum.

Fundraising to date includes more than $1 million collected from individuals, a $500,000 challenge grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, $380,000 from the Foundry Group, and $250,000 from Google to sponsor an interactive Makerspace.

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“In the nearly 10 years Google has been in business in Boulder, we have had a front-row seat to the emphasis the community places on education, technology and creativity, and this Makerspace will help feed and develop the imaginations and curiosity of the next generation,” said Scott Green, Google’s Boulder campus director.

Museum officials have embarked on the final phase of the capital campaign to raise the remaining $1.7 million needed to complete the new museum and plan to open it in late 2017.

“The Museum of Boulder will be an experience that draws visitors of all ages again and again,” said Nancy Geyer, the museum’s executive director, in a prepared statement. “This center, rich with content and technology, will capture as never before the heroic stories, surprising discoveries and innovative ideas that have shaped our community and, in some cases, have helped shape the world.”

Boulder-based Oz Architecture has been doing the design for the new museum, and Geyer told BizWest late Thursday that the funding will help it choose a general contractor for the upcoming construction work.

The nearly 72-year-old museum has had several homes, and has been renting its space in the historic Harbeck House, 1206 Euclid Ave., from the city since 1986. However, it has only about 1,500 square feet of exhibit space in the house’s small rooms. The Masonic Lodge building at 2205 Broadway, which the museum bought in 2012, offers about 7,000 square feet of exhibit space in larger, open, high-ceilinged rooms, some of which have no windows.

The new museum still will house exhibits on the community’s history but also will have room to showcase Boulder’s leadership in science, technology, natural foods and sports, as well as a children’s gallery and traveling exhibits from other museums including the Smithsonian Institution.

“The Museum of Boulder will attract tourists, but even more importantly, it will be a community, cultural center in downtown Boulder, providing exciting educational opportunities for families, children and adults from Boulder and beyond,” said Janet Martin, vice president of the museum’s board of trustees.

BOULDER — The Boulder History Museum soon will begin remodeling the Masonic Lodge on Broadway, with plans to move there and open the larger, rebranded “Museum of Boulder” by late next year.

Museum officials announced Thursday that they had reached key milestones in their $8.2 million fundraising campaign. They said they have raised more than $4 million so far, which will lead to the release of the first $2.5 million in matching funds from the city of Boulder. In November 2014, Boulder voters approved a three-year, 0.3 percent sales tax to support community, culture and safety, a tax that is expected…

Dallas Heltzell
With BizWest since 2012 and in Colorado since 1979, Dallas worked at the Longmont Times-Call, Colorado Springs Gazette, Denver Post and Public News Service. A Missouri native and Mizzou School of Journalism grad, Dallas started as a sports writer and outdoor columnist at the St. Charles (Mo.) Banner-News, then went to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch before fleeing the heat and humidity for the Rockies. He especially loves covering our mountain communities.
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