The final day for regular operating hours inside “the mansion” is Friday, May 5.
Even as the Kansas City Museum nears the start of construction, and Corinthian Hall (the mansion) gets ready to temporarily close to the public, Kansas City Museum supporters are spreading the word that the Museum will continue to host outdoor and offsite programming and events. Regular weekly operating hours are from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday through Friday, May 5, 2017.
“Interestingly, May 5 marks 77 years to the day of the Museum’s first public opening in 1940,” Kansas City Museum Executive Director Anna Marie Tutera said. “While Corinthian Hall is undergoing its transformation, the Museum will carry on with offsite exhibitions, programs, and events, as well as special onsite programming using the historic grounds and Carriage House, the first of which is The Derby Party.”
The Derby Party, #DerbyKC, will take place from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 6, 2017 on the historic grounds and within the Carriage House of the Kansas City Museum. The Derby Party is hosted by the Kansas City Museum Foundation and benefits the Kansas City Museum.
Renovations at the Kansas City Museum will be completed in several phases of architectural design and stages of construction. Each stage of construction will open to the public a new face of the Museum. Stage I Construction includes the extensive restoration and renovation of the lower level, first floor, second floor, and third floor of Corinthian Hall. Scheduled to begin in summer 2017, Stage I Construction is expected to be complete and open to the public in 2019:
• The lower level of Corinthian Hall will include a restored billiards room, as well as rehabilitated spaces used to create a new interpretation of the museum’s former, beloved “soda fountain,” public restrooms, kitchen facilities, and administrative functions.
• The first floor of Corinthian Hall will include restored, recreated, and rehabilitated rooms that will be used for programs, events, interpretive history exhibits, and thematic art installations. The first floor also will have a museum store, and a museum café and demonstration kitchen.
• The second floor of Corinthian Hall will include rehabilitated rooms that will be used for new exhibit galleries that showcase historical materials from the Museum’s permanent collection, and a meeting room/education space for community use and Parks Board meetings.
• The third floor of Corinthian Hall will include rehabilitated rooms used for new exhibit galleries, a theater, and an interactive space for recording and sharing stories.
Those who wish to see the mansion in its existing, pre-renovation state can attend free, docent-guided history tours at the Kansas City Museum through Friday, May 5, 2017 during regular weekly operating hours from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. In addition, “Making a Museum” tours that focus specifically on the renovation process will be available at 3:00 p.m. on April 21, April 22, and April 28 at the Kansas City Museum. To learn more about museum tours visit: www.kansascitymuseum.org.
BACKGROUND ON THE KANSAS CITY MUSEUM
Located at 3218 Gladstone Boulevard in the Historic Northeast community of Kansas City, Missouri, the Kansas City Museum is comprised of five original buildings, including the mansion Corinthian Hall, which was built in 1910 by Robert Alexander Long. The estate became a public museum in 1940. It is owned by the City of Kansas City, Missouri and operated and managed by the City of Kansas City, Missouri Parks and Recreation Department. The Collection contains more than 100,000 artifacts and several thousand more archival materials that interpret Kansas City’s local and regional history.
The Kansas City Museum is in the process of architectural design development to create a leading-edge museum of Kansas City’s history through a multi-year, multi-staged restoration and renovation project. International Architects Atelier is the lead architectural design firm, and J.E. Dunn Construction Co. is the Construction Manager at Risk. Museum Management Consultants produced the Museum’s Strategic and Business Plans, which were adopted in Fall 2016, and Gallagher & Associates produced the Museum’s Visitor Experience Plan that provides the parameters for exhibition design and development. For more information about the Kansas City Museum and construction project updates, visit www.kansascitymuseum.org. For more information about special programming call Paul Gutierrez at (816) 513-0726 or by email at Paul.Gutierrez@kcmo.org.