Houston Museum District

A direction sign in the Museum District
Museum District Red Line southbound station
Museum District Red Line northbound station

The Houston Museum District is an association of 20 museums, galleries, cultural centers and community organizations located in Houston, Texas, dedicated to promoting art, science, history and culture.

The Houston Museum District currently includes 20 museums that recorded a collective attendance of just over 8 million in 2012. All of the museums offer free times or days and 11 of the museums are free all the time.[1]

Bordered roughly by Rice University, the Neartown area and Texas Medical Center, the Museum District specifically refers to the area located within a 1.5-mile radius of the Mecom Fountain in Hermann Park.[2]

The Museum District is served by four stops on the METRORail, one specifically named for it and is easily accessible from I-69/US 59, State Highway 288 and Main Street.

The beginnings of the Museum District are found in 1977, when it became apparent that some action needed to be taken to provide easier access to the museums of the area. This call for community improvement evolved into the non-profit Montrose Project by the mid-1980s but changed into the Museum District Development Association of Houston (MDDAH) shortly thereafter. Based on the works of this organization, the Museum District was formally recognized by the City of Houston in 1989. The founding organization was dissolved in 1994, but the Museum District is now under the auspices of the Houston Museum District Association, founded in 1997.

The Museum District attracts visitors, students and volunteers of all ages, backgrounds, and ethnicities to learn about and celebrate art, history, culture, and nature around the world. More information on the 20 institutions of Houston's Museum District[3] may be found on their official website.[3]

History

In the late 1970s, the area currently including the Houston Museum District had fallen into disrepair, badly needing attention from local, county and state governments to improve roads and beautify the area, then unsafe for pedestrian traffic and cyclists.

The Houston Museum District began as a grassroots community movement in 1977 led by Alexandra R. Marshall whose concept was to create a pedestrian-friendly district with the Museum of Fine Arts, at the intersection of Bissonnet Street and Montrose Boulevard, as its core. In such a strongly vehicle-oriented city, and one which to this day retains the title of the largest city in the United States without zoning, this was fairly progressive.

The Museum District Development Association of Houston proposed a multi-phase plan to beautify and make more pedestrian-friendly the area located between Allen Parkway, Buffalo Bayou and Hermann Park. It took advantage of the opportunity to create in Houston an area of vital urban importance, similar to the French Quarter in New Orleans, St. Germain in Paris, and Georgetown in Washington, DC.

Since its creation, the numerous efforts of the Houston Museum District organizations have included community improvement projects, tree planting, sidewalk planning, construction and expansion, esplanade design, development and beautification, establishment of public transportation to and from the area, police support and various cultural events

The Montrose Association, the Museum Area Municipal Association, the South Main Civic Association, the Cultural Arts Center of Houston and TALA (Texas Accountants and Lawyers for the Arts) all played a part in the development and subsequent success in the creation of the Houston Museum District.

Timeline

City of Houston Museum District Resolution

Founding members

According to 1st board meeting notes (Oct 4, 1986):[10]

Directors:

Ex Officio members

Participating civic leaders at founding

[9]

Current museum members

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Houston Museum of Natural Science
Buffalo Soldiers National Museum

Parks and other institutions

Funding

Originally, funding was completely based on private sources—association member dues and members’ donations. Later, with growing awareness of the MDDAH and their work, funding came from numerous other sources.

Today, total operating budgets for the member museums exceed $80 million, funded almost completely from revenues and private donations. Museum District funding includes approximately $1.5 million in Hotel Occupancy Tax funds from the City of Houston and the Houston Arts Alliance;[20] contributions from all participating museums; foundation support from The Houston Endowment, Inc.;[21] The John P. McGovern Foundation;[22] The Wortham Foundation, Inc.;[23] The Brown Foundation, Inc.;[24] Susan Vaughan Foundation, Inc.; and corporate support from KHOU-TV Channel 11, KUHT-TV (PBS),[25] the Houston Chronicle, Texas Monthly, Exxon, and Cadillac.[1]

Public issues

The District plays an ongoing role in forming responses to public concerns and opportunities that include transportation improvements, signage, visitor information, area beautification, flood control and urban planning considerations. The HMDA also serves as an intermediary, which fosters an ongoing dialogue among the museums in the district to maintain continuing interest and visitation in the area.

Leadership

Laurette Canizares, Executive Director, Houston Museum District Association
Gina Miller, Programming and Public Relations Manager, Houston Museum District Association [26]

Education

Primary and secondary schools

The Houston Independent School District operates area public and private schools.

The Post Oak High School, a Montessori high school, opened in the northern hemisphere fall of 2012.[27] It is the first high school in the Museum District.[28]

Public libraries

Clayton Library, Center for Genealogical Research

The Houston Public Library Clayton Library, Center for Genealogical Research is located in the Museum District. The genealogical collection, originally housed in the Julia Ideson Building in Downtown Houston, moved to the William Clayton Home, a Georgian-style house built in 1917, in the Museum District in 1968. A site for a new building, adjacent to the Clayton Home, was purchased in 1986. The new building, which was built in 1988, was designed to complement the Clayton Home.[29] The city implemented a $6.8 million renovation project for the Clayton Home and the guest house and carriage house on the property in the 2000s. The city planned to renovate the property so it would meet LEED standards.[30] The city installed an elevator in the guest house so the building could be used as an administrative office. The carriage house received an addition so it could function as a 100 person conference room. The Clayton site can accommodate one plenary session and four breakout meetings, which would be required for a national genealogical conference. The Houston Business Journal awarded the renovation as the best historic renovation for its 2009 Landmark Awards.[31]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "HMDA Fact Sheet" (PDF). Houston Museum District Association. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
  2. ↑ "About HMDA". Houston Museum District Association. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Houston Museum District". houmuse.org.
  4. ↑ "Acceptance of Montrose Project Articles of Incorporation" (PDF). Houston Museum District Association. Retrieved 2009-11-05.
  5. ↑ "HMDDA Acceptance of Articles of Incorporation" (PDF). Houston Museum District Association. Retrieved 2009-11-05.
  6. ↑ "501(c)3 Approval" (PDF). Houston Museum District Association. Retrieved 2009-11-05.
  7. ↑ "Raiders of the Lost Art Program" (PDF). Houston Museum District Association. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
  8. ↑ "Museum District Clean Houston Award" (PDF). Houston Museum District Association. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
  9. 1 2 "Museum District Coalition Agreement" (PDF). Houston Museum District Association. Retrieved 2009-11-05.
  10. ↑ "MDDAH Board Meeting Notes" (PDF). Houston Museum District Association. Retrieved 2009-11-05.
  11. ↑ "buffalosoldiermuseum.com". buffalosoldiermuseum.com. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
  12. ↑ "czechcenter.org". czechcenter.org. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
  13. ↑ "DiverseWorks". houmuse.org.
  14. ↑ "thehealthmuseum.org". thehealthmuseum.org. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
  15. ↑ "crafthouston.org". crafthouston.org. 2012-08-18. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
  16. ↑ "hcponline.org". hcponline.org. 2012-09-13. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
  17. ↑ "Houston Museum of African American Culture".
  18. ↑ "ricegallery.org". ricegallery.org. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
  19. ↑ "Clayton". Houstonlibrary.org. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
  20. ↑ "cachh.org". cachh.org. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
  21. ↑ "Houston Endowment". Houston Endowment. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
  22. ↑ "Info: Foundation, Nonprofit: John P McGovern Foundation". John-p-mcgovern-foundation.idilogic.aidpage.com. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
  23. ↑ "Info: Foundation, Nonprofit: Wortham Foundation". Wortham-foundation.idilogic.aidpage.com. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
  24. ↑ "brownfoundation.org". brownfoundation.org. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
  25. ↑ "houstonpbs.org". houstonpbs.org. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
  26. ↑ "HMDA Fact Sheet" (PDF). Houston Museum District Association. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
  27. ↑ Quick, Mark. "Museum District a study playground for new high school." Houston Chronicle. March 28, 2013. Ultimate Bellaire. Retrieved on April 1, 2014.
  28. ↑ Patel, Purva. "School turns Museum District into a classroom." Houston Chronicle. September 25, 2011. Retrieved on April 1, 2014.
  29. ↑ "History of the Clayton Library Houston Public Library Retrieved on March 11, 2010". Houstonlibrary.org. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
  30. ↑ "Azevedo, Mary Ann. Historic center for family tree research growing into green era Houston Business Journal Friday December 14, 2007. Retrieved on March 11, 2010". Houston.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
  31. ↑ "Best Historic Renovation: Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research Houston Business Journal Friday April 10, 2009. Retrieved on March 11, 2010". Houston.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
  32. ↑ "Texas". Asia Society. Retrieved 2012-09-19.

External links

Media related to Houston Museum District at Wikimedia Commons

Coordinates: 29°43′30″N 95°23′20″W / 29.725°N 95.389°W / 29.725; -95.389

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