Museo Alameda in trouble (Houston, Dallas: rentals, houses, purchase)

[mission-sundancer]

I love this forum!! So many different ideas on what could be wrong with the Museo at Market Square. In the time that I have worked at Farmer's Market, I have talked to thousands of tourists. I don't remember a single one asking me about the Museo. Those that are on the tour buses get dropped off at La Villita to shop and see the sights. Then they get dropped off at Market Square, and are told they have 45 minutes to shop and see the sights. Where in that time frame can you fit in a visit to a museum? By the time they get to the Farmer's Market, they have seen everything in triplicate!!! They rush through here just so they don't miss their bus! Just because this is San Antonio, do we really have to have everything Spanish??? There is so much art out there!! Please don't get me wrong, I love San Antonio and everything about it. I just wish there were more than Frida Kahlo to see at the museum.

[LindaGrace]

Not all tourists are on buses. Not all tourists are only interested in food and shopping.

I personally love the Museo and the idea of it. It's a terrific space and is utterly stunning outside, especially at night. I've been to many exhibits there, and at our other museums, and guess what! I'm not a tourist at all! I actually LIVE IN SAN ANTONIO!

I think it's a shame that the museum is suffering financially. I think it's a combination of a lot of things, not the least of which may be mismanagement - not criminal mismanagement, but just plain ol' "guy in charge doesn't know what he's doing" mismanagement.

[tgannaway89]

Originally Posted by LindaGrace

Not all tourists are on buses. Not all tourists are only interested in food and shopping.

I personally love the Museo and the idea of it. It's a terrific space and is utterly stunning outside, especially at night. I've been to many exhibits there, and at our other museums, and guess what! I'm not a tourist at all! I actually LIVE IN SAN ANTONIO!

I think it's a shame that the museum is suffering financially. I think it's a combination of a lot of things, not the least of which may be mismanagement - not criminal mismanagement, but just plain ol' "guy in charge doesn't know what he's doing" mismanagement.

How is nobody here able to connect the dots? They are suffering financially because nobody is going! 30,000 visitors a year is pathetic for any museum. The Institute of Texan Cultures boasts three times the exhibit space of Alameda and features many of the cultures that make up Texas. It is able to attract over 300,000 visitors a year! In fact SAMA, ITC, McNay, and Witte all attract more visitors and none are really located in prime spots.

[SATX56]

Why don't some of these art works go to the Witte Museum which is starving for something worthwhile to exhibit!!! Last time I went to the Witte, aside from the traveling dinosaur exhibit the Witte had nothing but old clothing to see!! It's pathetic and embarrasing. Back in the 70's they at least had the McFarland Diamond. Then some nickel and dime bandits swiped it. While we're at it the Fed is wasting a huge amount of cash. Their supervision of our 5 Missions by high salaried Park Rangers is a heavy tax burden to us all!!!

[Bo]

Originally Posted by satx56

While we're at it the Fed is wasting a huge amount of cash. Their supervision of our 5 Missions by high salaried Park Rangers is a heavy tax burden to us all!!!

Looking at the privately-owned spaces around the missions, I shudder to think how much graffiti and vandalism would be at those missions without the presence of Park Service staff to protect them. I'm right there with anyone who dislikes wasteful spending but IMO, we're better off paying for staff to care for those missions if we think they're worth preserving.

To bring this tangent back to the original topic, the original article points out that the Museo Alameda affects city taxpayers, too. The city owns the building in which it resides. Some entity, either the non-profit that runs the museum or the Smithsonian, is paying rent to the city for that space. Without that rent, the city would likely have a big empty building on its hands that it would have to pay to heat and cool.

[tgannaway89]

The trouble continues. The new president has resigned after only 3 months on the job.

Alameda Center chief resigns (http://www.mysanantonio.com/entertainment/Head_of_Alameda_.html - broken link)

[Bo]

Originally Posted by tgannaway89

The trouble continues. The new president has resigned after only 3 months on the job.

Alameda Center chief resigns (http://www.mysanantonio.com/entertainment/Head_of_Alameda_.html - broken link)

Reading that in the paper today made me think the doors there must be awfully close to closing. This museum will probably need a new benefactor to keep that from happening.

[Bo]

Originally Posted by Bowie

Reading that in the paper today made me think the doors there must be awfully close to closing. This museum will probably need a new benefactor to keep that from happening.

Apparently no benefactor was forthcoming, so the city is handing the museum another $450,000 of taxpayer money and a deadline of 18 months to get its act together.

Alameda gets infusion of cash

[metalfish]

Well ive been there several times recently. THere is now an admission charge, and the last time i went there were loads of people at one of the several Jesse Trevino events. If they continue to do exactly that, I think they will be just fine. It was an excellent exhibitoin with several oppurtunites for lectures and speacial events which they took advantage of.

[Desdicata]

I live in San Antonio; have for the last 25 years. I am a Mexican-American who as a child living in Houston, would travel with my family to join our extended family members in San Antonio, our ancestral home, for weddings, funerals, Christmas, Easter, Hemisfair '68, etc.
I had a front row seat on the Mexican-American adventure in South Texas... one set of grandparents that spoke no english, listened to radio KCOR, sent all thier sons to the military, lived on thier little dusty patch of earth by the railroad tracks until the end. Blue house and all. Window units and always caldo on the stove and orange "drink" in the fridge. The 6 boys (my uncles and Dad) wore khakis and white T-shirts year round.
The other set of grandparents spoke english in front of the grandkids, lived in a great older neighborhood, sent all thier sons to the military, worked for civil service, had great moral character and would be great role models for any child. Always calevacita on the stove and Big Red in the fridge. The boys (my 4 uncles) wore khakis and white T-shirts also year round.
My trips to San Antonio, were split between the grandparents that served white bread and tortillas, and the ones that just served tortillas. I loved them both tremendously! From one set I learned to be polite, to care, to try hard, save for a rainy day... from the other, I learned to be strong, not take any **** from anyone, "Laugh today, Cry tomorrow" and to be proud of who I was.
Always I have carried those memories and philosophies with me, constantly keeping alert to keep one set of "beliefs" in check with the other, "Move forward in time but dont forget who you are or where you came from".
When the Museum first opened, I was excited about seeing something that I desperately needed to see, a slice of the past. Like a previous reader, I had a friend that was on the initial wave of employees, ready to present something beautiful and unique to the world.
Entry fees were quite steep I recall, much more than I expected. I paid the fee and entered. I was surprised at how polished the employees looked, sensed the excitement of the moment among those who were in the museum already, and started "looking" for that certain something that I could connect with.
I walked through the all too few galleries in a quick manner, like a kid looking for the toy aisle at Target. I could care less about the paintings or portaits rather, of accordian players and other folkloric companions of the "hispanic experience" (it's Mexican-American, okay?).
Exhausted and confronted with the reality that this museum did NOT capture my rendition of the South Texas experience, I proceeded to the Gift Shop to salvage the visit with anything that would make me feel like I didnt just get totally owned by the Smith.
Turning the corner... I found what I was looking for! A full blown mock-up of an old school Botanica, complete with a medicine chest full of ingredients for secret potions and cures, good-luck charms and votives, rosaries and Virgin Marys of every size imaginable, Volcanico and mexican chocolate. Now I realized what I was looking for all along. My lifestyle was missing something that my soul desperately needed. All the memories of that little blue house near down town San Antonio came flooding back to me. The memories of the little bottles, the labels, the simple promises of fulfillment based upon prayer, the tactile qualities of the display... it was all that I yearned to hold in my hands. I chose a path in my life to follow and somewhere down the line, i forgot the roots of the other possibile route.
I could go on and on, but i realize thats not the purpose of the string.
Oh, finally i turned the corner once more into the Gift Shop proper and gave a quick glance at all the made in China wares that I could gain elsewhere at a much reduced cost.
Needless to say, i never went back to the museum though i have walked within 25' of its entrance at least 20 times in 2010. Market Square is just not the place for the diluted nature of the exhibits. It doesn't "feel" Mexican-American... its TOO polished.