Boston tourists may have a new way to experience the city’s history aside from quacking at passers-by or wandering through Boston’s cobblestone streets on Freedom Trail.
If developers obtain land rights for a vacant plot between the Rose Kennedy Greenway and Haymarket, Boston could have its first comprehensive and interactive history museum.
‘It’s a museum of innovation of Boston and how it transforms the world,’ Developer Frank Keefe said. ‘It’s not going to be a boring, dry place where you are going to do a lot of reading.’
Cambridge Seven Architects, who designed the New England Aquarium, is designing The Boston Museum-a 100,000-square-foot interactive space that would showcase city and state history in areas such as sports, immigration, politics, social changes and scientific invention.
‘It’s an idea that supports more than a narrow slice of Boston history,’ Keefe, the CEO of the proposed museum, said. ‘We have 200 years of history in Boston, which is tremendous and rich and deep.’
Keefe and his team have been working to obtain rights from the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority for the Parcel 9 plot, which is the ideal location.
‘According to economic analysts, it’s the best museum site in America,’ Keefe, a former State Secretary for Administration and Finance, said.
He said the proximity to the Freedom Trail near Quincy Market, as well as the Haymarket street vendors, would allow the museum to connect the two tour sites.
‘ ‘The pushcart vendors, which may be a nuisance for other businesses like hotels, are great for us,’ Keefe said. ‘We have a living, breathing exhibit right outside our window.’
Keefe said the museum would not house a permanent collection of objects or documents, but would borrow objects-many of which are not currently available to the public-from partner institutions, families and individuals.
Keefe said he remains confident the museum will win the bid, despite competition with a residential proposal in the MTA’s decision.
‘Why would you put housing surrounded by non-housing uses plagued by a very dirty, smelly, noisy Haymarket venue?’ Keefe said. ‘It’s just not a good housing site, but it’s the best museum site.’
If the museum proposal receives approval, the board will have to raise $140 million for construction and operation.
The museum is expecting at least 400,000 visitors per year, each paying S10 per ticket, to cover over 80 percent of its annual expenses, according to its fundraising assessment. It also has the location to potentially attract 14 million visitors from North End, Quincy Market and the Freedom Trail.
‘By comparison, the aquarium gets 1.3 million visitors with $24 a ticket, so we are pretty confident,’ Keefe said. ‘It’s going to be very sustainable, not only because the large amount of tourists but new university students.’
Keefe said community response to the proposal has been positive.
‘We have big potential donors, but no one is going to make a commitment until we have control of the site,’ he said.
Board members said the museum’s fundraising campaign would take about four years, but they have spoken to three potential donors, whose total donations could be close to $30 million.
Local residents and tourists said they are support the idea for a ‘synthesizing’ history museum.
German tourist Monika Goewswein said another museum would improve Boston’s tourist attractions.
‘[My mom and I] saw some historical sites like the Freedom Trail and Quincy Market, but I don’t think there are enough museums here,’ Goewswein said. ‘We went to the Museum of Fine Arts, but it was pretty far out of the city.’
Local resident Liam McCabe said he does not think fundraising will be an issue, despite the large amount needed.
‘You’d be surprised how many people still come [to Boston],’ he said. ‘We are also coming out the recession, so maybe there will be people that are generous to donate.’
Until the MTA decision at the end of October, the Boston Museum cannot move forward on its prospects.
‘I have a story to tell, but it’s not real until I have a hold on it,’ Keefe said.
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