The City Museum is scheduled to open its doors next week as what the sponsoring Historical Society of Washington, D.C., calls "a place of hometown pride and education."

Unlike the many other museums in the nation’s capital, the City Museum will focus on the past, present and future of the city’s residents.

Located at Mount Vernon Square, 801 K St. NW, the City Museum is the culmination of a $20 million capital campaign launched by the Historical Society in 1998 to finance the complete renovation of the District’s former Carnegie Central Library into a grand repository for local history.

More than $18 million has been raised from individuals and businesses to date, and Historical Society officials expect to exceed their goal when the fund-raising campaign concludes in December.

The City Museum features a permanent overview collection, with many interactive exhibits, and a multimedia show to introduce visitors to various perspectives on the city’s 200-year history. The overview exhibit includes a giant floor map of the District of Columbia.

Two "community galleries" will feature changing exhibits that highlight the city’s many neighborhoods and ethnic communities. The museum’s residential neighbors at Mount Vernon Square and the city’s Chinese community are the focus of the first two community gallery exhibits.

A changing exhibit gallery will open with an exhibition on the history of sports in Washington. Included will be many photographs and memorabilia of both professional and non-professional sports.

A permanent working archeology laboratory in the museum will offer visitors a look at history being uncovered. Artifacts from archeological surveys and digs around the city will be featured in the "Digging History" exhibit.

Rare 18th century maps and prints of the city, from the private collection of Albert Small, also will be on display for the opening. The exhibit will be the first in a changing series featuring Washington-based collections of photographs, prints and paintings of the city.

Historical Society officials expect the City Museum also to serve as a "gateway" for residents and tourists to explore Washington’s diverse neighborhoods and network of lesser-known historical and cultural sites. The D.C. Heritage Tourism Coalition, which created several walking tours of D.C. neighborhoods, is cooperating with the City Museum in this effort.

In addition to housing exhibits, the new City Museum will be the headquarters of the Historical Society. More than 100,000 images, books, maps and prints in the society’s archives will be searchable and available for study in the new Reading Room and Library facilities. The library will be open during museum hours but accessible without payment of the museum admission fee, officials said.

The museum will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Museum staff have ambitious plans for interacting with local schools and youth organizations, and for using the museum’s Web site to provide educational activities. The museum also is expected to be used extensively as a party site for community groups and events related to conventions booked at the new Washington Convention Center across the street. A gift shop and cafe also are planned in the museum’s main hall. Tourist information also will be made available.

The museum expects to draw at least 300,000 visitors each year.

The museum’s renovation was a joint venture of Washington-based Devrouax & Purnell and RKK&G Museum and Cultural Consultants of New York. GSM Design of Montreal created the museum’s exhibits.

First Lady Laura Bush is honorary chairman for the City Museum’s grand opening. The Host Committee is chaired by Agatha and Laurence Aurbach and Nora and Christian Hohenlohe. Vice chairs are Leslie and Leonard Shapiro.

Other Host Committee members are Mr. and Mrs. Robert Barbuto, Tiane Cheryl Benson, Mr. and Mrs. Allan Berman, Mr. and Mrs. Stuart Bernstein, Mr. and Mrs. Albert Beveridge III, Mr. and Mrs. Emanuel Boasberg, Theresa Brown, Lydia Goring Byrd and Keith Byrd, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Carroll Carter, Mr. and Mrs. John Derrick, Mr. and Mrs. LeRoy Eakin III, Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Friendly, Mrs. John Timberlake Gibson, Susan Sachs Goldman, Mr. and Mrs. Joe Horning, Mr. and Mrs. Horace Howells, Shelly Jeffrey, Denise Johnson, James Kronzer and Bill Poulos, Mr. and Mrs. Ernest May Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Scot McCulloch, Camille Riggs Mosley, Susan Murphy, Alex Pedro and Pleasant Mann, Mr. and Mrs. David Pensky, Carlyn Ring, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Ross Jr., Elizabeth Snowdon, Carolyn Stopak, Mr. and Mrs. Lou Stovall, Raquel Vallejo and Dr. Miguel Bretos, Mr. and Mrs. Chuck Wagner, Mr. and Mrs. Togo West Jr., J. Channing Wickham, Bob Witeck and Bob Connelly, and Deborah Ziska.

Fund-raising efforts for the museum have been co-chaired by Austin H. Kiplinger, Albert H. Small and former D.C. mayor Walter E. Washington.

D.C. residents can search for their home on a giant satellite photo map of the District set in the glass floor of the new City Museum’s overview exhibit.

But that’s only the beginning of things to touch and see and hear among the museum’s interactive exhibits.

During a recent preview of the overview exhibit, Exhibitions Curator Laura Burd Schiavo demonstrated how visitors can pull open numerous drawers to discover hidden historic treasures in the exhibit. Visitors will also be able to pick up telephones to hear oral histories, view video clips and literally open doors to four historic periods in the District.

A multimedia show in the museum’s 150-seat theater will feature a 23-minute overview of the city’s 200-year history in a format that combines state-of-the-art technology with interesting historical facts.

• Lunchtime Music Series will feature Sweet Saludos’ Latin Jazz from noon to 1 p.m. on the steps of the City Museum. Free.

• The museum’s Opening Celebration, a fund-raising event, from 6 to 10 p.m. unveils the exhibits, screens the new multimedia show Washington Stories and brings the museum alive with music, food and drink. Tickets, required for this event, may be purchased online at www.citymuseumdc.org or by calling (202) 785-2068 ext. 305.

• Lunchtime Music Series continues from noon to 1 p.m. on the steps of the City Museum. Free.

• The Historical Society of Washington, D.C. presents its Members’ Preview of the museum beginning at 5 p.m. Membership required for this event.

• The official Dedication and Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. Mayor Anthony A. Williams and other local dignitaries will participate.

• At 4 p.m., the Historical Society will offer a Preview for Teachers to learn what educational resources are available at the new museum. Reservations, required for this free event, may be made by calling (202) 785-2068 ext. 105.

• The City Museum will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• Lunchtime Music Series will feature an Afro-Drum Summit from noon to 1 p.m. on the steps of the City Museum. Free.

• Registration for the Metro Scavenger Hunt begins at 9 a.m. at the City Museum, rain or shine. Participants will use a "passport" to explore destinations throughout the District, find answers to questions at each destination and rack up points to win prizes. The Scavenger Hunt is free and the first 300 participants get to ride Metro free and receive discounts on tickets to the Washington Freedom/D.C. United doubleheader that begins at RFK Memorial Stadium when the Scavenger Hunt ends there at 3 p.m.

• Lunchtime Music Series will feature East of the River Boys and Girls Steelband from noon to 1 p.m. on the steps of the City Museum. Free.

• The City Museum celebrates International Museum Day with an Open House, featuring free admission to all exhibits and special programs for visitors of all ages, sponsored by Horning Brothers. The museum will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Copyright 2003, The Common Denominator