So the story now, according to this new report from the Los Angeles Times, is that the Southwest Museum of American Indian artifacts will close June 30 for major repairs to its building on the Mount Washington site near the Pasadena Freeway (Route 66).
Operators of the Southwest Museum say they will close its collections exhibition areas beginning June 30 to make way for at least 3 1/2 years of major repairs to the historic but bedraggled Mount Washington landmark, a move that has alarmed some long-time volunteers and neighbors who fear a permanent closure could follow.
But officials at the Autry National Center, which operates the Southwest, say the real message in the move is just the opposite. Not only will they keep the Southwest’s library and gift shop open, they say, they’re aiming to reopen the rehabilitated Southwest building with exhibition space in 2010, so long as they can raise enough donor money and get city approvals needed to expand their Griffith Park site.
Until then, “the collection has got to be moved out, because it’s imperiled where it is,” said John Gray, the Autry’s chief executive.
Based on what I’ve read in other reports, the Southwest Museum does need a major shore-up. A solution to sooth the fears of Southwest Museum’s supporters is to get a written contract to have the building fixed and move the museum’s contents back in once it’s done. Of course, you have to have both parties sign the pact — which may be a challenge, given the anomosity by both sides.