Misconceptions and Realities about the Milwaukee Public Museum Move
I’m continuing to work with Preserve MKE to warn the city that many beloved exhibits at the Milwaukee Public Museum are at risk of being destroyed. The planned move and destruction of the museum could be disastrous to the city’s culture and history, and there are a lot of misconceptions about what’s going on, so here is a list of misconceptions and realities about what’s happening:
FALSE: The entire Milwaukee Public Museum is moving to another location.
TRUE: The developing museum is too small to hold more than a tiny fraction of the existing exhibits. Many beloved exhibits may go into storage and never be seen again. Much of the new museum is composed of LED screens. Works of art and historical significance will be destroyed.
FALSE: The Milwaukee Public Museum leadership has been open about what’s going on with the move and the developing museum.
TRUE: There are a lot of unanswered questions about what’s going on, and the powers that be have not responded to many of our questions and concerns. We don’t know what’s happening to famous and beloved exhibits.
FALSE: The exhibits belong to the Milwaukee Public Museum and they can do what they want with them.
TRUE: The contents of the Milwaukee Public Museum belong to the county and the people who live here. Valuable assets and works of art may be lost without our permission. Shady changes in terminology have been imposed to justify a right to decide what happens to famous exhibits. Milwaukeeans have a right to know what’s happening to the county’s property.
FALSE: The developing museum will preserve Milwaukee’s history.
TRUE: The developing museum does not consider local history to be part of its focus, preferring to focus mainly on natural history. The Milwaukee Public Museum has traditionally employed experts in local history. Over the last few years, many of these positions have been eliminated. The most famous exhibit celebrating Milwaukee's history, The Streets of Old Milwaukee, will be destroyed and replaced with a very different exhibit that removes many critical aspects of the city's history.
FALSE: The existing museum is damaged beyond repair.
TRUE: There is strong evidence that it would have been cheaper to repair the existing museum than to build another one. There is no reason to tear down the existing structure.
For more information, get in touch with Preserve MKE, please!
–Chris Chan
Chris Chan’s book Sherlock Poems was published on June 30th! He is also the author of the CWA Dagger Long Listed The Autistic Sleuth, written with the professional guidance of his mother Dr. Patricia Meyer Chan, and he has also written the Agatha and Anthony-nominated book on the Columbo killers, Some of My Best Friends Are Murderers! He is the author of the Funderburke and Kaiming novels Ghosting My Friend and She Ruined Our Lives and Well-Behaved Children Seldom Make History, released by Level Best Books. He is also the author of the comedic novels Sherlock’s Secretary and Nessie’s Nemesis, published by MX Publishing, as was his anthology Of Course He Pushed Him and Other Sherlock Holmes Stories Volumes 1 & 2. His Agatha-nominated book Murder Most Grotesque: The Comedic Crime Fiction of Joyce Porter was published by Level Best Books. His first non-fiction book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” is available for sale at Amazon.com and the MX Publishing website, as well as at Book Depository (with free worldwide shipping there). It is also available in a Kindleedition.
