The Catalina Island Museum is moving to the Ada Blanche Wrigley Schreiner Building – four times the size of their rented Avalon Casino accommodation – on Santa Catalina Island, California.
Scheduled to open in 2015, the private, non-profit museum bought the land for US$1.9m (€1.3m, £1.1m) with funds from private donations. The new 11,000sq ft (1,021sq m) building will cost US$6m (€4.3m, £3.5m).
Founded in 1953, the museum has always leased space in the island’s landmark casino building, built by chewing gum magnate William Wrigley Jr. in 1929.
“Our building project is monumental for us because it will be the first time in our 61-year history that we will have our own building on our own land,” said Gail Fornasiere, director of marketing for Catalina Island Museum.
The construction team is being led by Christopher Hill Development and the architect on the project is Marengo Morton Architects, based in La Jolla, California.
The permanent history galleries will focus on Catalina Island’s history, such as the Chicago Cubs spring training facility, Marilyn Monroe, sport fishing, steamships, seaplanes and Hollywood history.
The extra floor space will be used to house travelling art exhibits that museum and community leaders hope will entice visitors from the mainland.
Since the appointment of Michael De Marsche as executive director of the museum in 2010, membership to the museum has grown from 300 to nearly 2,000, due to popular exhibits featuring the Beatles and Marilyn Monroe.
