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Museum of Art, parking, 7th etcBoard of Trustees DUbuque Museum of Art April 12, 2001 Tim Conlon President Bob Woodward Mike VanMilligen City Manager City Hall Dubuque, IA 52001 [ohn Schmidt Connie Gibbs Secretary Dr. Darry[ Mozena Past President Dr. john Chapman Tom Gifford David Hammer Jack Kahn Wm. G. Kruse Dr. Randy Lengding Archie Lieberman Ruth Nash Wayne Norman, Jr. Lisa Ot~ Dorothy Rossiter Stephanie Savage Mike Stol[ Chuck Stoltz Nelson Britt Executive Director Dear Mike, Three years ago, when the Dubuque Museum of Art was searching for a suitable location for a new museum, we invited several museum authorities to our community to look at a half dozen possible sites. They were unanimous in their choice of the land across from Washington Park. Each expert noted that building an art museum next to a public park was ideal, a natural relationship. Our architects affirmed the location and designed a building to take maximum advantage of the proximity of Washington Park and its attractiveness. The architects and the visiting museum directors all noted that an art museum and a park are naturally complementary, i.e. the two entities haVe the potential for interacting with each other, establishing a cultural and esthetic synergy. The two-stow picture windows on DuMA's south side are designed to offer museum visitors a splendid view of the Park, in effect, "bringing" the natural beauty of the Park "into" the museum. At the same time the Museum's window wall visually "invites" park people "into" the Museum. The two entities, Washington Park and the Art Museum, net only complement each other visually, they also offer the opportunity for complementary activities. Soon Seventh Street will be repaved and the new street pavement will facilitate activity spillover from both the Park and the Museum. Seventh Street, when closed to vehicular traffic, will provide a patio-like link between the Park and Museum. As the esthetic environment of the Seventh Street area evolves, the only impediment is that of parked motor vehicles on the north side of the Park. This line of cars and trucks creates a physical and visual barder between the Museum and the Park. 70! Locust Street Seventh at Washington Park Dubuque, Iowa 52001 With the addition of a minimum of six new parking places on the east side of Bluff, between Seventh and Eighth Streets, we have an opportunity to vacate at least six parking places on Seventh Street without a net loss of parking. We wish to recommend to the City Administration this parking place swap: Seventh Street parking for Bluff Street parking. Telephone 319,557.1851 Fax 319.557.7826 Mike VanMilligen April 12, 2001 Page Two The City would be able to enhance Seventh Street, Washington Park and the Museum campuses without any net loss of on-street parking. We believe this action would be a win-win proposition. This is perhaps an appropriate time to stress again that DuMA relies exclusively on private funding; no public money is being provided. Also, since we opened a year and a half-ago, DuMA has staged over 500 events, hosting 25,000 visitors from 47 states and 18 foreign countries. We have also accommodated thousands of school-age children by way of tours, classes, special shows and lectures, and with our outreach programs. DuMA is surely doing its share in boosting tourism and enriching our young citizens. Washington Park is a long-standing Dubuque esthetic landmark. DuMA is one of Dubuque's most recent cultural assets. The two entities obviously complement each other and will be able to do so even more effectively with the opening up and repaving of Seventh Street. We hope you will give this proposal sedous consideration and be in touch with us if you have questions or suggestions. Respectfully, Bob Woodward, Trustee Tim Conlon, Trustee Dr. John Chapman, Trustee Ruth Nash, Trustee John Schmidt, Trustee Bill Kruse, Trustee Dr. Darryl Mozena, Trustee Enclosures Urban Conversion L~ he Iocation--a picturesque corner in downtown Dubuque lows, across from the ii city s Washington Pa~, which hosts such cultural activ[rjes as fairs, concerts and L~ :he annual Dubuque Feat--was perfect for a museum. So when the 1974 office/bank building on the s~ce became available, the Dubuque Museum of Art decided :o rehabilitate the dark, closed-in, tired structure for its new home. The challenge was how to mansform the uninviting building into a sun-]itL spaeioas, welcoming museum for the small community. The Dubuque Museum called on :he team of Joan $oranno (designer) and John Cook (project architect), vice presidents, Hammal Green and Abrahamson, inc., Minneapolis, who are well-known for :heir museum work. Compl~ed in Auguat 1999, the Dubuque Museum renovation posed many design problems, Soranno says~ "As much as we would have liked to have exploded :he box, we couldn't," she explains. "$o we gutted :he interi- or, and inserted dynamic lines and curves and elements into :he interior spaces. Andwe focused on detailing and connections between spaces." The 3-story, 12,500-square-foot structure takes full advantage of its prominent s~:cingr "Dubuque is a fascinating town with los of historic structures," Soranno says. "But be- cause iCs part of the diversity/of the urban fabric, a building with more of a modern, ex- pression fits well with the historic character of :he city. And the scale of the museum building is well-suited to its context" To open up :he museum to :he park, :he neighborhood and passersby, :he architects replaced the building~s south and east exterior facades with large, clear curtain walls (framed in anodized aluminum) that present a welcoming sr, reet presence. In addition, a large section of the second floor was removed te create the transparent, 2-story lobby with views of the park. The existing bank drive-through on the north side of the building was converted into a loading dock and service area~ On the Iowes~ level of the museum are an education classroom and collection~' ster* age. The firs: floor includes a small education gallery, museum store, administrative offices and the IiglYc-filled lobby. Adjacent to the upper lobby on :he second floor are the galleries for the permanent collection and temporary exhibits. CAMILLE LEFEVRE MA,RCH/APRIL 2000 29 D u b U'qo eArt Museum In the evenings, the Dubuque Museum of Art is a luminous presence forvis~tors and passersby in historic downtown Dubuque (above), Formerly a '7'Os bank, the building for the community (opposite). A large sec~on of the buildlo~s second 17oor was removed to create the 2-sto:y lobby (opposite). Elsewfle~e in the buildin~ the ard~tec~s created dynamic lines and curves to animate the intedor spaces (bbove and below). Structural modifications expanded the gallery ceiling heights to 10' in some areas, which is still somewhat Iow, Soranno says. "But the Dubuque collection is fairly small and focuses on an exquisite collection of small-scale works by Grant Wood. So the modifica- tions work." Skylights were also altered to increase daylight throughout the interior. Finally, all the mechanical and electrical systems were upgraded to provide tempera- ture and humidity control throughout the museum, and a new vapor barrier was installed in all of the exterior walls. In phase two of the project, a new wing will be added to the w~st of the existing museum with expanded loading-dock facilities te the north. The Honor Awards jurors were excited by the program's "challenge of translating a '70s building to a '90s museum," they said. The jurors commented that the" circulation patterns were well done," and that the architects "opened up the ceiling and fenestration nicely" and dealt with lighting challenges well by using the skylights and the curtain wall. As a result, the jurors said, "what was heavy ambience was transformed into clean detail," The jurors also commented on how the design fosters a relationship between the building entry and the existing red-brick walks (and red-b?ick historic houses beyond), the park and the crosswalks. But moreover, the jurors were impressed at how the architects "turned a cranky '70s building into a nicely improved, really decent museum." ~ I-tono~' Award IMARCHJAPRIL 2000 Year 2~b~2~e41~ Learning Meadow Farmers' Market Registration Now Being ACcepted Vendor r,egistrati0ns for the Dubuque Farmers Market are being accepted now throug!a April 20 at the Dubuque Main Street, Ltd. office located at 909 Main Street, Suite 22LL~ Dubuque. Held on Saturdays from 7 a.m. until noon, the Farmers~ Market features vendors Of homegrown produce and plants, baked goods, and handmade arts and crafts. The 2001 Farmers' Market opens May 5 and runs through October 27. Vendors can look forward to additional promotions and crowd-attracting entertain- ment and demonstrations during special events throughout the season. Those inter- ested in selling seasonal products may con- si_der the possibility of sharing a market space with another vendor. This is very cost-effec- tive and makes the most of your market space. Interested persons can attend an open, general information meeting, Thursday, March 8, 2001, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at the Carnegie-Stout Public Library. Poten- tial vendors will receive information and materials outlining the steps involved in be- coming a vendor. A representative of the City of Dubuque Health Services Dept. will be on hand to answer any questions about regulations regarding the sale of food items. Individuals or groups interested in per- forming at the Farmers' Market should con- tact the Main Street office. For more infor- marion, contact Main Street at 588-4400. Museum of Art (continued from page 2) material, even recalling the Stone City land- scape often painted by Grant Wood, argu- ably the author of the most valuable works in the museum's collection. On the exterior, the museum converted a basic sidewalk to the same pavers used on the 8t~ Street reconstruction (less than a block away). Further making an effort to integrate the project into the surrounding historic downtown, the museum droPped their archi- tects~ plans for two outdoor lights which were relatively modem in design, switching to the identical antique design City and Cable Car Square merchants Museum lobby, photo Don Wong chose for theft lighting project. Incorporating elements of other down- town improvement projects is indicative of the collaborative approach planners took in financing the renovation of this building. The plYllanthropy of the Woodward Founda- tion and Conlon Construction; a private fondralsing effort; in-kind donations of many varieties; cash contributions; grants; and the City's three percent loan pool all contributed to the $2.8 million required to complete the project. Main Street recognizes the new museum 'as an investment in our downtown above and beyond the investment in the physical build- ing, itself. The museum is an anchor in Dubuque,s emerging "cultural corridor," a conceptual line of arts amenities winding through the downtown from one end to the other. As arts and cultural attractions increas- ingly become destinations for tourists, the museum serves as a fine example of adap- rive reuse. Director, Nelson Britt, has com- mented that since its opening, the museum has had visitors from nearly all 50 states and 17 countries. In addition to the conlribu- rion to the cultural landscape, the project had a very practical im- pact on downtown occupancy by f-filing a very large vacant build- ing. Furthermore, the new use brings a more non-traditional time usage of this building. In- stead of the 9-5 weekday use, the museum brings another social time player into the heart of our downtown, giving residents a beautiful place to meet and add- ing to that dJgf~cult to define "quality of idfe" quotient. Art-lovers will recognize benefits be- yond those already listed. The museum's modem environmental control system can now accommodate the requirements of na- tionally touring exhibits, allowing shows of greater variety and quality to be exhibited in our community. That, alone, makes the project worthy for many. Considering the other benefits the new museum contributes to our downtown - the creation of a world- class exhibition space and tourist destina- tion in the heart of our cultural corridor - the new Dubuque Museum of Art is a shining example of adaptive reuse of an existing building. Thanks to all for a fun event! Main Street would like to extend a big "thank you" to everyone who partici- pated in our Beach Party Business P.M. last month. Thanks to you, it was a fun, success- ful event. The Chamber of Commerce estimated the attendance at about 500 people. Thanks to our restaurant booth sponsors, they had a great selection of food from which to choose. Food was provided by Big Apple Bagelsi the Holiday Inn, Jan's Grate Shop, the Julien Inn, Just For Fun Candies, La Gustronomie, the Lighthouse Grill, Pickle Barrel and Sugar Ray's Barbecue, with beverages provided by KirchhoffDistribut- lng, The Busted Lift, Tabor Family Win- ery and Dubuque Main Street. Our best-dressed booth prize went to Tandem Tire. Our judges reported that Tandem's smoking hibachi grill was the clincher. Best- dressed female was Lisa Bennett the at the Radio Dubuque booth, with Matt Booth of Elite Enter- tainment and Dubuque365 taking best- Best-dressed "mermaid," Lisa dressed male. Betmert goes fishin' at the PM Tom Carroll, of Irving School won our Grand Prize drawing with Kris Sabers taking the First Prize. Our great prize packages were made pos- sible by the generous donations of area busi- nesses, including: Amirage Salon & Spa, Continental Realty/Felderman Appraisals/ Dubuque Morning Optimists, the Dia- mond Jo Casino, Downtown Fitness~ Dubuque Fashions, Finley Hospital, Graham's Style Store for Men, the Grand Opera House, Gotta Have It, the Mando- lin Inn, O'Toole Office Supply, Paws Awhile, the Redstone Inn, Rocco Buda Arts Gallery and Yen Ching. Music by Elite Entertainment, was spqn- sored by Dubuque365.com. Main Street would like to extend a spe- cial thanks to the Julien Inn for hosting the P.M. and to our Business P.M. committee~ New Faces Now Placo Main Gallery & Studio Dubuque's "cultural corridor" has a new addition, the Main Gallery and Studio at 198 Main Street. across Second Street from the Julien'Ima. The grand opening onApril 1 will be a benefit for the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra and will feature live music, a silent auction of art objects and other goods and services, an appearance by conductor Will- iam Intriligator and first-chair oboist. Heather Mallory, pocket billiard demonstrations by Robert Byme. hors d'oeuvres, and drinks. The Main Gallery is the creation of painter and graphic artist Cynthia Nelms- Byme, who has long felt that the city needed a place for local artists to display th(tr works. She is joined in the venture by Odra Eberhardt. Alda Kaufman, Sharon Krapfl, Linda Pratt. Pat Schlueter and Martha Whitus. The seven women will work in the rear area of the space - the studio - and exhibit their work in the front-the gallery. In addition to the studio artists, two or three "outside" art- ists will be featured on a rotating basis. The firs! outside artists are sculptor. Gall Chavenelle. and watercolorist. Mary A~m W'fl- genbusch, both of Dubuque, and Sarah Jean Gray of Hanover. ~linuis. According to Nelms-Byrne. the empha- sis will be on original local art - no prints or copies. Ail media will be shown. "I hope the gallery encourages people to consider origi- nal works of art for their homes and busi- ness,'' Nelms-Byme said Winter hours of operation will be Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.. with extended summer hours. PM Volunteers zontinued from page 1, Companies. The Julien Inn and all their staff. including Jerry Bell. Pam Freese. Tabitha Kotz and Eric Rolfe for hosting us. The Julien provided their balkoom, the linen, the set up, clean up and extra staff to make our evem a success. Events do not just happen; people and volunteers make them happen. Each and every one that gave of their time and talents. we thank you. Sincerely, Linda Herbst The Dubuque Museum of Art An Exemplary Adaptive Reuse Project This is our third in a series of articles highlighting a specific proJect that serves as a shining example of downtown revitalization. The highlighted endeavors will include those that enhance the Main Street design and eco- nomic development mission for our down- The purpose of publishing tJtese articles is ro provide useful ideas to area businesses and/or to outline the principles many down- ~own stakeholders have adopted to help the ongoing renatssance of our city center. For details of the Main Street Design Service pro- grram contact Dan at 131915884400. This month, we will look at a model ex- ample of an adaptive reuse of an existing building. The Dubuque Museum of Art project took an existing vacant buihfmg with some potential, and applied an ambitious ar- chitectural makeover that transformed the space into a world-class museum with an award-wiuning design. Although a long- time fixture in down- town Dubuque in the old jail building adja- courthouse, the Dubuque Museum of Art needed to find a io- cation/building that would provide the en- Facade removed for museum reconstruction vironmenr needed to allow for the display of a wider variety of artwork. The group chose a building just east of the Town Clock, our symbolic city center. Through the gen- erous contribution of a number of major down- seum secured a build- ing recently vacated by Peoples Natural Gas: however, most of the life of this building was spent as a finan- cial institution. Like many others nation- wide, this building be- The new Museum of Art when a bank merged with another bank whose Dubuque office just happened to be right across the street. Wtfile a structurally sound and relatively modem buildin~ for downtown Dubo~ue, the needs of a museum and the needs of a utility office/financial institution are completely different. Clearly, a complete renovation was in orden Changes were numerous. The bank/uffl- ity service lobby did not provide enough space for a more "open" lobby required by the museum. Office-space upstairs needed to be converted to gallery space, with gal- Iery lighting. While financial institutions are not"closed" spaces, many more wfladows and a more welcoming look was needed. The entrance and fac. ade had to have a major over- haul. Demolition of the existing fa.cade and the successive reconstruction may have ap- peared drastic to casual observers downtown. At one point, with most of the binlding's front removed, it seemed that little would remain from the original structure. That perception is not entirely inaccurate, as it does seem to be a "new" building. The overall feel of the space has changed dra- matically. When you walk in the new mu- seum, it is somewhat hard to believe it is the same building in which you paid bills and made deposits. The "new" building has already won an ar- chitectural Honor award from the Minnesota Chapter of the American Institute of Archi- tects (AIA/. With the south- facing wall opened to a bank of windows. sunlight floods the main lobby and invites visitors inside. The clean, modem lines of the architectural de- sign are repeated throughout the d~cor- in the reception desk. the simple maple benches and the sweeping rail along the second floor balcony. A spirit of place was honored in choosing polished limestone tiles for the flooring. It not only fits with the con- temporary design but also utilizes a native (Museum of Art~see page 3)