Kimberly Finzel

Anthropology 577Ball State UniversityApril 26, 2010

NEW SOLUTIONS FOR HOUSE MUSEUMS: ENSURING THE LONG-TERM PRESERVATION

OF AMERICA’S HISTORIC HOUSES

Donna Ann HarrisAltamira Press, 2007260 pages

Designed for board and staff members of nonprofit-owned historic house museums that are struggling with insufficient funds or people power to sustain their site to the level that their historic building needs and deserves.

Provides new solutions for house museums that cannot be sustained long-term.

Outlines eight techniques currently in use by nonprofit and government owners of historic houses to sustain the sites long-term.

Part I

Assessment and Decision Making Current Trends in Historic House

Museums Is This Your House Museum? Legal and Ethical Issues The Decision-Making Process Making the Transition

CURRENT TRENDS IN HISTORIC HOUSE

MUSEUMS.

Most House Museums were created by volunteer preservationists who saw the house being threatened and wanted to retain the structure as part of the historic fabric of the community.

House Museums must be heavily subsidized in order to pay for house maintenance and the staff to run them.

Unfortunately, most house museums are only locally significant, and don’t attract enough financial support (through tourism) to remain solvent.

Many historic house stewards make the unconscious or conscious choice not to address deterioration of the house, since it is easier to do nothing.

However, it is the obligation of the stewards of the property to plan for the future and ensure that the work of the past does not end in deterioration and abandonment.

Some House Museum Statistics

Twenty years ago there were 5,000 house museums in the United States.

Ten years ago there were more than 8,000. 59% began operating prior to the 1960s. 70% are in rural locations or places with

populations under 50,000 people. 54% receive fewer than 5,000 visitors a year. 65% have no full-time staff. 80% have annual budgets of less than

$50,000. A new house museum is created every 3.5

days.

House museums appeal to both preservationists and the public because of their familiarity. However, without active interpretation a house is a dead artifact.

Want to honor and romanticize local forefathers.

Interpretations are often generic.

Some problems with house museums.

Aging boards.

Few endowments and little planned giving.

Deferred maintenance obligations.

Visitor services.

IS THIS YOUR HOUSE MUSEUM?

Five scenarios depicting fictional historic house museums and their challenges: Deferred Maintenance An Aging Board of Directors No Endowment or Organizational Reserves Dwindling Attendance, Increased

Competition Relevance to the Local Community

LEGAL AND ETHICAL ISSUES.

General Responsibilities of the Board. Attorney General’s Office. Responsibilities and Solutions for the

five fictional challenges. Container or Real Estate Investment? Future Maintenance and Restoration

Cyclical maintenance.

DECISION MAKING FLOWCHART

1. Board of Directors

identifies need to study

alternatives.

2. Board identifies and

selects facilitator &

other consultants.

3. Board formally

establishes Alternatives

Committee and other

committees necessary for

study.4. Staff and consultants collect all necessary

documents.

5. Board and staff identify and contact all stakeholders and

invite to participate in Alternatives Committee.

6. Alternatives Committee and

other committees

begin to meet.

7. Alternatives Committee identifies

and evaluates preliminary

alternatives with assistance of consultants.

8. Alternatives Committee decides on

a preferred alternative.

9. Alternative Committee and

consultants presents preferred alternative

to Board.

10. Board accepts, rejects, or seeks

additional information from Alternatives Committee and

consultants about preferred alternative.

11. Alternatives Committee and

consultants respond to Board's concerns and

gather more information.12. Alternatives Committee and consultants presents additional information to

Board. Board accepts preferred alternative with any

changes.13. Board, Alternatives

Committee, and consultants present information on preferred alternative to

larger group of Stakeholders.

14. Board calls a special meeting of the membership to discuss preferred alternative,

seeks their input.

15a. If alternative does not involve sale or transfer

of assets, Board implements preferred

alternative after responding to Membership

concerns.

15b. If preferred alternative does involve sale or

transfer of assets, Board calls a

special meeting of the Membership to vote on preferred

alternative.

16. If a positive vote by Membership, the Board

implements the preferred alternative.

Throughout: Board communicates to Membership about progress of search for preferred alternatives. Board manages communication with Stakeholders and the public through a spokesperson.

MAKING THE TRANSITION

Celebrating the Transition.

An Educational Component.

A Permanent Reminder.

A Living Legacy for Future Generations.

Part II

Solutions and Case Studies Eight Solutions Explained Case Study: Study Houses Case Study: Reprogram for Mission-Based Use Case Studies: Co-Stewardship Agreements Case Studies: Asset Transfer and Merger Case Study: Long-term Leases Case Studies: Short-term Leases Case Studies: Sale to a Private Owner with Easements Case Studies: Sale to a Nonprofit Stewardship

Organization Case Study: Donation to a Governmental Entity

EIGHT SOLUTIONS EXPLAINED

A variety of possible ownership and reuse solutions that have been successfully tried.

Find a use that fits the house, rather than fitting the use into the house. Minimizes destruction of historic fabric.

Small size of domestic buildings means fewer reuse options. Sites with more acreage or outbuildings will have more

choices. Condition of the building, setting, and zoning laws must be

considered. Two possible choices:

Retain ownership of the site Donate the site

Reuse Options Based on the Condition of the Historic House Museum Building

House Museum

Reuse Solutions

Study House

(HHM use)

Mission-Based use. (non-HHM

use)

Co-stewardshi

p Agreemen

t (HHM use)

Merge with new

HHM (HHM use)

Lease for Adaptive

Reuse (non-HHM

use)

Sale to Private Sector with

Easement

Sale to nonprofit

with easement

Donation to

government or

nonprofit with

easementBuilding

ConditionsRestored/well maintained

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

Restored/some Deferred Maintenance

** *** ** ** ** ** ** **

Restored/ major Deferred Maintenance

* ** * * * * * *

Partly restored/ well maintained

* ** ** ** ** ** ** **

KEY: ***excellent solution **possible solution*unlikely solution

Reuse Options Based on the Condition of the Historic House Museum Building

House Museum

Reuse Solutions

Study House

(HHM use)

Mission-Based use. (non-HHM

use)

Co-stewardshi

p Agreemen

t (HHM use)

Merge with new

HHM (HHM use)

Lease for Adaptive

Reuse (non-HHM

use)

Sale to Private Sector with

Easement

Sale to nonprofit

with easement

Donation to

government or

nonprofit with

easementBuilding

ConditionsPartly restored/ some Deferred Maintenance

* ** ** * * ** * **

Partly restored/ serious Deferred Maintenance

* * * * * * * *

Unrestored/ well maintained

* ** * ** * ** * **

Unrestored/ some Deferred Maintenance

* * * * * * * *

Retain ownership of the historic building

Five options: Continue to manage the site but reprogram it as a study

house with limited visitation. Continue to manage the site but reprogram it for another

mission-based use. Give up daily management, and enter into a formal co-

stewardship or cooperative relationship with another house museum organization to operate and manage the house museum.

Dissolve the corporation and merge with another nonprofit to manage the property as a house museum.

Give up daily management, and enter into a long-term management or lease agreement with another nonprofit or for-profit that manages the property for a house museum or another adaptive use.

Sale or donation of the property, with protective easements

Three options: Sell the house to a private owner with

easements Sell to a nonprofit stewardship

organization with easements Donate the site to a government or

other nonprofit entity.

POTENTIAL USE

I AM A PRESERVATIONIST!!!

Solutions for museums having operational issues, preservation concerns, or financial problems.

Many of the responsibilities of house museum boards are also our responsibilities as the creators of the current museum exhibition.