From: Michael Lamason <mlamason-AT-blackcherry.org>
Date: Tue, 29 Nov 2005 10:33:56 -0500
To: puptcrit-AT-lists.driftline.org
Subject: Re: [Puptcrit] [Artmobile] Contemporary?/Walters?


Sorry about this post folks. I meant to send it to the Baltimore arts  
newsgroup. My apologies.

On Nov 29, 2005, at 10:16 AM, Michael Lamason wrote:

> Here is a post and copy of the press release concerning the purchase of
> 100 West Centre Street from Kate Market of The Walters. -Michael
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 
> -
> ----------------
> I understand there have been some questions about the purchase of the
> building that the Contemporary is located in.  I attach the press
> release which may help to clarify the issues.
>
> Kate Markert
> Associate Director
> The Walters Art Museum
>
>
>
> For more media information contact
> Amy Mannarino
> Manager of Public Relations
> The Walters Art Museum
> 410-547-9000 ext. 277
> amannarino-AT-thewalters.org
> For Immediate Release
>
> THE WALTERS ART MUSEUM ANNOUNCES MAJOR STEP
> TOWARD EXPANSION
> Centre Street building, housing Contemporary Museum and Maryland
> Humanities Council, to be purchased by the Walters from the Maryland
> Historical Society;
>   Purchase made possible by a $1.5 million gift from a donor to the
> Walters
>
>
> Baltimore, MD.  In a major step towards expansion, the Walters Art
> Museum (the Walters) has signed a contract with the Maryland Historical
> Society (MHS) to purchase a building just west of the Walters for $1.5
> million. A donor has come forward with a gift to the Walters of $1.5
> million to make the purchase possible.  Located at 100 West Centre
> Street at Park Avenue in Baltimore, the building houses the
> Contemporary Museum, as well as the offices of the Maryland Humanities
> Council and storage for the Maryland Historical Society.  Closing on
> the purchase of the building from MHS to the Walters will occur before
> December 31, 2005.
>
> In 2001, when the newly renovated Walters=92 Centre Street building
> opened, it was already understood that there was not enough space to
> house and attract many major exhibitions, as well as store the Walters=92
> renowned collection of art from around the world.
>
> Because the Walters=92 collection continues to grow, most recently with
> gifts from Berthe and John Ford, Doris Duke, and John and Marisol
> Stokes, expanded space is needed to show them in enlarged permanent
> collection galleries.  As  part of a long-term strategic planning
> process by the museum=92s board of trustees, a strategic expansion
> committee was formed to address the expansion of the physical plant.
> The committee was in the midst of exploring options when the 100 W.
> Centre Street building became available for purchase.
>
> =93Buying this building is a golden opportunity for the Walters,=94
> explains William Paternotte, President of the Walters=92 Board.  =93The
> Board saw the purchase as an essential component of the future
> expansion of the Museum, and consistent with the Walters=92 strategic
> plan, adopted 18 months ago.  We are especially grateful for the
> generosity of a single donor in helping us toward this goal.  The new
> building provides additional options for the Walters=92 expansion that we
> frankly did not have before. =94
>
> Henry H. Stansbury, President of the Board of the Maryland Historical
> Society, comments, =93We are very pleased that The Walters can use 100 W.
> Centre Street to their benefit.  The Maryland Historical Society has
> just finished completing and filling its new museum and its refurbished
> library and has freed up enough space on our square block campus to let
> the building go.  This is a =93win-win-win=94 situation.  MHS will reduce
> its costs.  The Walters gains needed space.  And the Mt. Vernon
> Cultural District sees further advancement of our collective efforts to
> make us all a desired destination for museum-goers and serious students
> of the arts.=94
>
> Dr. Gary Vikan, director of the Walters, explains, =93Making the new
> building part of the Walters=92 complex is ideal, as it is adjacent to
> property we already own and utilize for museum parking. Our neighbors
> know that the historical integrity of the neighborhood is vital to the
> success of the Walters and our other museum neighbors, including the
> Contemporary Museum and the Maryland Historical Society.=94
>
> Dr. Vikan continues, =93The Walters appreciates our existing partnership
> with the Contemporary Museum, sharing exhibitions such as =93Going for
> Baroque=94 in 1995 and =93Louise Bourgeois: Femme=94, opening in February
> 2006.  We are very pleased to be sharing physical space with them as
> well.=94
>
> Thomas F. O'Neil III, President of the Board of the Contemporary
> Museum, agrees, saying, "We are delighted the Walters has decided to
> acquire the building.  For over a decade, we have collaborated on a
> host of cutting-edge, exciting projects, such as =91Going for Baroque=92,
> that have leveraged their world class collection in the context of a
> contemporary dialogue.  And the timing could not be better with the
> next venture on the horizon:  the opening of the Louise Bourgeois
> exhibition in the spring.  So we are looking forward to an even closer
> relationship in the future.=94
>
> =93I am delighted to hear that the Walters is buying 100 West Centre
> Street,=94 says Charlie Duff, former President of the Baltimore
> Architecture Foundation, and President of Jubilee Baltimore, Inc.
> =93It's a good building and the Walters=92 ownership will help to make
> Centre Street a real arts corridor.  Moreover, the Walters is a great
> neighbor.  Mount Vernon has the potential to be a magnetic place, with
> a very rare mixture of history, culture, and dynamic current life; and
> the Walters is a big part of Mount Vernon in all three of its facets.
> All of us in the neighborhood look forward to working with you for the
> future of a great museum and a great Mt. Vernon.=94
>
> The next step for the Strategic Expansion Committee is to contract for
> a Master Planner, most likely an architect, who can assess the specific
> needs of the Walters and assist in determining the options and scope of
> the expansion project. All options and available avenues for
> improvement to the existing building will be carefully explored in the
> master planning process. At 9,000 square feet, the building was built
> in 1928 for the Home Mutual Insurance Company. The architect was Clyde
> M. Fritz, who was also the architect of the Enoch Pratt Free Library
> two blocks away on Cathedral Street.
>
> In preparation for expected and needed future expansion, the Walters
> has been raising government funds since 2001 when the State of Maryland
> first awarded a $1 million bond bill. Since that time, additional bond
> bills have been approved by both the state and Baltimore City voters.
> The legislature and the voters have allocated $2,650,000 to securing
> the Walters=92 future through four different bond bills.
>
> The Walters Art Museum
> The Walters Art Museum is located in Baltimore=92s historic Mount Vernon
> Cultural District at North Charles and Centre streets. Its permanent
> collection includes ancient art, medieval art and manuscripts,
> decorative objects, Asian art and Old Master and 19th-century
> paintings. Peabody Court is the official hotel of the Walters Art
> Museum. For hotel reservations, call 1-800-292-5500.
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