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Historical society to shut 2 city museums
Civil War, maritime sites to close Sept. 1 to eliminate deficit
By Glenn McNatt
The Baltimore Sun [Baltimore, Md.]
July 3, 2007
The Maryland Historical Society - which laid off 20 percent of its staff last year and saw a new director leave within four months of arriving - will close two satellite museums in Baltimore to reduce costs.
The Maritime Museum in Fells Point and the Baltimore Civil War Museum in Harbor East will close Sept 1. The closures will save about $50,000 a year and allow the 163-year- old historical society to eliminate its deficit by mid-2008, said society Director Rob Rogers.
"It's a small change but one that is necessary because both museums operate at a loss, and we need to ensure the future of the Maryland Historical Society," Rogers said.
The closures recall difficulties suffered by other small museums in the city. And they come as historical institutions nationwide have suffered shortages, watching charitable donations shift to relief efforts after the Sept. 11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina, experts say.
The historical society is negotiating to have other groups take over operation of the museums, each of which had a budget of about $100,000 and drew 12,000 to 13,000 visitors a year. Rogers said he hoped to arrange other employment opportunities for the full-time director and three part-time employees affected by the change.
Board chairman Henry Stansbury said the closures would help firm up the society's financial position.
"Over the last three years we've reduced expenses dramatically and increased revenue to the point where we are happy to announce a break-even budget for 2008," Stansbury said. "We have re-established fiscal stability."
The historical society has operated the Maritime Museum since 2003 in cooperation with the Preservation Society in Fells Point, which owns the museum's Thames Street building. The society has run the Civil War Museum at Fleet and President Streets since 1998.
In a statement, Rogers also said the closures would allow the historical society to concentrate on exhibitions and programs at its main campus on West Monument Street.
The historical society's deficit ballooned to $1.5 million in 2005, after a major expansion and renovation of its Mount Vernon campus that had been completed in 2003.
In the 2006 fiscal year, the deficit was still larger than expected, prompting last year's layoffs that saw the departure of 12 of the institution's 60 employees. The layoffs came under former director W. Eric Emerson, who stayed on the job only four months. He returned to his home in Charleston, S.C., and was replaced by Rogers, the former chief financial officer.
The layoffs and other measures cut the deficit nearly in half, to $775,000, Rogers said.
"We had a good year," he added, noting that contributions from members were up $100,000 over the previous year, to $770,000, and that state funding increased by $400,000 to total $565,000.
The 2008 balanced budget the society is anticipating was made possible in part by a jump in contributions from trustees, including a $300,000 gift from Stansbury and his wife, Judith. The annual budget is now about $3.9 million, with an endowment of $19 million.
Rogers said the society was exploring turning over the Maritime Museum to the Preservation Society, and the Civil War Museum to the B&O Railroad Museum.
"The Preservation Society is aware of our plans to close our operations there. They could rent the space to another institution," Rogers said.
For the Civil War Museum, "We have approached the B&O Railroad Museum and asked if they were interested in taking over that operation," he added. "Our hope would be that there would be a transfer, but it's not a done deal."
Courtney Wilson, director of the B&O Railroad Museum, said his institution was considering taking over the Civil War Museum, though the idea is at an early stage.
"We're looking at it," Wilson said. "We'd have to sit down with the historical society and the city and put together how this might occur. But we have a bit of due diligence on our part in making sure it's a viable business option for us."
The Preservation Society did not respond to telephone queries about a possible takeover of the Maritime Museum.
The Maryland Historical Society is not unusual in taking steps to retrench from the rapid expansion it began in the late 1990s.
"What you're seeing in Maryland is pretty typical of what we see across the country," said Bethany Hawkins, a program associate at the American Association for State and Local History in Nashville, Tenn.
"Whether by reducing hours or cutting staff, a lot of historical societies are tightening their belts," Hawkins said. "Everything is sort of in flux in the aftermath of Sept. 11, when there was a drop in travel, and Hurricane Katrina, which affected nonprofits across the board in terms of charitable giving."
The historical society's closings recall the demise of the old City Life Museums, which were forced to shut their doors in 1997 after falling $2.5 million in debt. This year, the city's two sports museums, the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum and Sports Legends at Camden Yards, also felt the financial pinch.
Those museums, which have a combined budget of about $2 million, had to reduce staff by 40 percent and hire part-time workers to stay afloat. Their difficulties were viewed as further evidence that tourist destinations outside the Inner Harbor face tough times.
The historical society houses 7 million books, documents, photographs and other memorabilia, as well as some 350,000 objects related to Maryland history and culture.
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Eric
Civil War, maritime sites to close Sept. 1 to eliminate deficit
By Glenn McNatt
The Baltimore Sun [Baltimore, Md.]
July 3, 2007
The Maryland Historical Society - which laid off 20 percent of its staff last year and saw a new director leave within four months of arriving - will close two satellite museums in Baltimore to reduce costs.
The Maritime Museum in Fells Point and the Baltimore Civil War Museum in Harbor East will close Sept 1. The closures will save about $50,000 a year and allow the 163-year- old historical society to eliminate its deficit by mid-2008, said society Director Rob Rogers.
"It's a small change but one that is necessary because both museums operate at a loss, and we need to ensure the future of the Maryland Historical Society," Rogers said.
The closures recall difficulties suffered by other small museums in the city. And they come as historical institutions nationwide have suffered shortages, watching charitable donations shift to relief efforts after the Sept. 11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina, experts say.
The historical society is negotiating to have other groups take over operation of the museums, each of which had a budget of about $100,000 and drew 12,000 to 13,000 visitors a year. Rogers said he hoped to arrange other employment opportunities for the full-time director and three part-time employees affected by the change.
Board chairman Henry Stansbury said the closures would help firm up the society's financial position.
"Over the last three years we've reduced expenses dramatically and increased revenue to the point where we are happy to announce a break-even budget for 2008," Stansbury said. "We have re-established fiscal stability."
The historical society has operated the Maritime Museum since 2003 in cooperation with the Preservation Society in Fells Point, which owns the museum's Thames Street building. The society has run the Civil War Museum at Fleet and President Streets since 1998.
In a statement, Rogers also said the closures would allow the historical society to concentrate on exhibitions and programs at its main campus on West Monument Street.
The historical society's deficit ballooned to $1.5 million in 2005, after a major expansion and renovation of its Mount Vernon campus that had been completed in 2003.
In the 2006 fiscal year, the deficit was still larger than expected, prompting last year's layoffs that saw the departure of 12 of the institution's 60 employees. The layoffs came under former director W. Eric Emerson, who stayed on the job only four months. He returned to his home in Charleston, S.C., and was replaced by Rogers, the former chief financial officer.
The layoffs and other measures cut the deficit nearly in half, to $775,000, Rogers said.
"We had a good year," he added, noting that contributions from members were up $100,000 over the previous year, to $770,000, and that state funding increased by $400,000 to total $565,000.
The 2008 balanced budget the society is anticipating was made possible in part by a jump in contributions from trustees, including a $300,000 gift from Stansbury and his wife, Judith. The annual budget is now about $3.9 million, with an endowment of $19 million.
Rogers said the society was exploring turning over the Maritime Museum to the Preservation Society, and the Civil War Museum to the B&O Railroad Museum.
"The Preservation Society is aware of our plans to close our operations there. They could rent the space to another institution," Rogers said.
For the Civil War Museum, "We have approached the B&O Railroad Museum and asked if they were interested in taking over that operation," he added. "Our hope would be that there would be a transfer, but it's not a done deal."
Courtney Wilson, director of the B&O Railroad Museum, said his institution was considering taking over the Civil War Museum, though the idea is at an early stage.
"We're looking at it," Wilson said. "We'd have to sit down with the historical society and the city and put together how this might occur. But we have a bit of due diligence on our part in making sure it's a viable business option for us."
The Preservation Society did not respond to telephone queries about a possible takeover of the Maritime Museum.
The Maryland Historical Society is not unusual in taking steps to retrench from the rapid expansion it began in the late 1990s.
"What you're seeing in Maryland is pretty typical of what we see across the country," said Bethany Hawkins, a program associate at the American Association for State and Local History in Nashville, Tenn.
"Whether by reducing hours or cutting staff, a lot of historical societies are tightening their belts," Hawkins said. "Everything is sort of in flux in the aftermath of Sept. 11, when there was a drop in travel, and Hurricane Katrina, which affected nonprofits across the board in terms of charitable giving."
The historical society's closings recall the demise of the old City Life Museums, which were forced to shut their doors in 1997 after falling $2.5 million in debt. This year, the city's two sports museums, the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum and Sports Legends at Camden Yards, also felt the financial pinch.
Those museums, which have a combined budget of about $2 million, had to reduce staff by 40 percent and hire part-time workers to stay afloat. Their difficulties were viewed as further evidence that tourist destinations outside the Inner Harbor face tough times.
The historical society houses 7 million books, documents, photographs and other memorabilia, as well as some 350,000 objects related to Maryland history and culture.
Eric
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