One of the criticisms of the museum having the entire Sears block is that the block will be dead after the museum closes each night at 5:00. By having a mix of residential and retail, the block could be hopping around the clock.
Whenever that objection is raised, the rebuttal has always been along the lines of, “how do you know the museum will close at five? No one has ever said what the hours of operation are going to be. You’re assuming facts not in evidence!”
Not anymore. Councilman Bob Manning asked Jim Richerson point-blank what the new museum hours will be, and he answered that they will be the same as the hours now: “9 or 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.” He did say that the large screen theater “may” be open “later.” And that the museum “could” have “extended hours.” Maybe. Could. To only one thing did he specifically commit: “9 or 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.” So those are the hours, for the record.
If they can’t meet the city’s needs – open to at least 7 PM and have a “free day” where most if not all of the exhibits are free to the public – why bother!!! Free days encourage people to come back to see the rest and visit other places in the area. What a misuse of valuable real estate! I have no objection to a museum that does not attack my tax dollars, but if it is going to anchor the “Sear’s Block” it needs to bring people to the Riverfront for all that it offers.
It’s going to be a field trip museum.
I wonder if Councilman Manning asked if they were going to be open on the weekends, too.
A movie theater that is only open until 5 PM? You have to be kidding, right?
I think if one cent of taxpayer tax money goes into this, it needs to be open when MOST taxpayers can use it and that would be weekends and AFTER 5 PM.
Chef Kevin nailed it, the problem is, after 5:00 is reserved for special parties of the upper crust. Don’t want to have it open to the peasants at those times.
That’s a bunch of crap. If it is really a ‘collaberative’ museum for ‘Peoria’ that we may have to pay for without choice (and then still pay extra to actually see the exhibits,) it can’t be open during the hours when most Peorians are off work? Why does it have to have “Lakeview” hours?
If ‘Plan B’ turns into reality, then how about those of us in the taxing district get a free pass? Seems fair to me. Surely the expected influx of visitors from Chicagoland and elsewhere will make up the revenue difference.
…and another thing… who wants to go downtown on a weekday 9-5 unless you have to? I don’t know what the crowd would be after 5, certainly it could be open until 6, at a minimum. The theatre should definitely be open later, lets say even only on the weekends, but if the theatre is open, the museum should be open.
Everybody complains about the downtown shutting down at 5 and this isn’t helping.
Private parties will definitely bring in additional revenue, but unless they think this will be a common occurance, it can be planned in advance.
I really, really hope this whole thing falls through. This is going to be the boondoggles of all boondoggles.
And I’m not even sure if boondoggle is the proper word choice for my sentiment, that’s how strongly I feel.
Bait n Switch
You know, the hours of the current museum are one of the reasons we don’t visit more often.
It’s obvious that both you and Councilman Sandburg delite in taking every oportunity to “stick it to” the museum planners. I suspect the two of you even have a little “Pig in the Poke” jig worked out that you practice every time you get together to plan the next step in your anti-museum strategy.
Richerson’s response to the Councilman’s question was ridiculous and gave the complete wrong impression. Why he didn’t take advantage of the question to point out that their current plans are to utilize the giant screen theater at the museum to show family entertainment films in the evening is beyond me. The attraction of this venue to families as an enticement to come down to the riverfront may be greater than any of the galleries or exhibits in the museum itself. The opportunity to see a Harry Potter movie on an IMAX size screen will probably be much more appealing to kids than looking at duck decoys or a gallery on the history of the Peoria area. The IMAX theater at the Putnam Museum in Davenport has attracted an average of approximately 180,000 people during each of the five years since it opened. That’s an average of almost 500 people per day. If it can happen in Davenport, at a facility that’s hidden away in a residential neighborhood, why is it impossible to conceive that a similiar facility on Peoria’s riverfront could replicate those attendance figures. Here are a few of the 40 films that have been shown at the Putnam IMAX since it opened five years ago, Happy Feet, Night at the Museum, Poseidon, Superman Returns, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, The Polar Express, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Batman Begins, Beauty and the Beast, Michael Jordon to the Max, NASCAR 3D, Rolling Stones at the Max, and Everest. This summer they featured Spider-man 3 and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. My only hope is that you “Pig in the Poke” critics will be so mad when this development is completed that you’ll vow to never set foot on the block. Good ridance.
Um… I am pretty sure the museum folks have said that the big theater would not be an IMAX but rather something ‘like’ it. This would probably rule out all those nice neat IMAX versions of mainstream movies
Kat…
I am all for the original concept that was originally sold to the community as justification to start this whole redevelopment process of the ‘sears’ block. That original concept was very New Urbanist, had retail, residential, and was all around conceived very well. Indeed that concept would have had viability even if the museum folks were to fail in some fashion.
After multitudes of revisions we now have a design concept that bears little resemblance to what was sold to the public in the first place. It is a design concept that is getting poorer and poorer by each revision. We the public have been bait n switched. We were shown a package of goods to justify public movement in redevelopment. If that package of goods is no longer on the table, and it appears not to be, then the justification for the public’s support no longer exists. The city should be insisting on the original concept. If the developers are unwilling to cooperate then it is time to look for other uses and other developers for that property that do fit with the public’s interest in support New Urbanism per the Heart of Peoria plan.
There is nothing that says a museum has to be built there. Would a museum be a positive use? yes. Could it be a draw? Yes. Should it fit within the Heart of Peoria plan and be New Urbanist in design? Absolutely. To allow the sears block to be something other, would render the Heart of Peoria plan to obscurity. This is a HIGH profile development that WILL set the standard for redevelopments to come.
Failing to stand by the original concept, in my mind, is a vote of no confidence on the part of the city council, in the Heart of Peoria plan and all that it entails.
Of course, an IMAX theater would more than likely go over pretty well which is why the planners have opted for a not-quite version of an IMAX theater.
Kat — After the museum is built, Gary and I are going to try to get as many people as we can in all that open space around the museum to do the “Pig in a Poke” jig at the same time so we can hopefully set a world record. 🙂
Kat, at least CJ has been consistent, which is more than I can say for the museum planners.
You’re going to have your work cut out for you!
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, “The largest Irish dance involved 7,664 participants at an event organised by the City of Cork council in Cork, Ireland on September 10, 2005.”
http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records/amazing_feats/mass_participation/largest_irish_dance.aspx
PI — BUT what’s the record for the most people doing an Irish dance AND playing rock, paper, scissors at the same time?
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Kat — On a serious note, I honestly do not desire to see the museum fail. It’s not my desire to “stick it to” the museum every chance I get. However, I do have concerns about the museum’s plans. I’m disappointed with them. I’ve expressed why, and I’ve expressed what I would rather see instead. I don’t just criticize and not offer any alternative. My suggestion is that we put Cat visitor museum and a history/achievement museum on the Sears block as one part of a greater density block — with retail and residential components included. The current art and science museum would stay where Lakeview is now. I would definitely like to see the big-screen theater go in on the Sears block (although I’d rather it be a real IMAX, personally).
Why do I advocate this? Not because I’m a smart person, as some of my commenters frequently remind me that I’m not. I advocate it because the city has hired experts in city planning to give us advice on how to develop that block specifically, and they’ve all said that it needs to have urban density and a mix of uses. I don’t understand why we pay all this money for expert advice and then do the complete antithesis of that advice.
It’s nothing personal against the museum per se. My beef is with the city councils that haven’t/won’t take real leadership and stick with the plan — the plan, by the way, that had lots of citizen input.
C.J. is being nice, he has to be. What exactly is Kat defending with so much gusto? Let the city, a private developer or both build an IMAX. Why does it have to be controlled by the Museum Partnership? WHY does it have to be attached to the museum at all? Museum supporters have used the same rhetoric from the beginning to defend this project. Countless questions and concerns have been brought up, but NEVER NEVER addressed by anyone in the Museum Partnership.
KAT…your desire to see an IMAX here is cool. What I did not see in your last entry was any REAL defense for the museum as a MUSEUM!!!!