MILWAUKEE — Big changes are in store for the Milwaukee Public Museum (MPM) as it gets ready to move into its new facility.
MPM will be moving from its Wells Street location into a new facility called the "Future Museum." MPM responded to concerns Tuesday on whether or not its new facility will leave out long-time favorites like the 'Streets of Old Milwaukee' exhibit.
It began witha post on Facebook that the museum made. In the post, a user asked if the Streets of Old Milwaukee will be part of the new building. An MPM staffer replied, “Entire exhibits won’t be moving over but those who love MPM will have A LOT they love at the Future Museum. As you can imagine, making something new and refreshed, yet familiar and cozy is a fun challenge for our design team!”
- MPM RECEIVES FLAK ONLINE: 'Streets of Old Milwaukee' exhibit moving to new Milwaukee Public Museum?
On Tuesday, MPM provided clarity to speculations on social media.
"Most of our exhibits, like the Streets of Old Milwaukee, have elements that are built into the current facility," MPM tweeted. "Deconstructing those in a way that won’t damage them and using those exact same materials to reconstruct them in a differently-shaped building would be nearly impossible, not to mention excessively expensive and time-consuming."
Over the course of a few days the statement "entire exhibits won’t be moving over" fueled a lot of speculation about the Future Museum. While you'll get a first peek at the exhibits in spring here are a few details in this thread to help to provide some clarity about our process: pic.twitter.com/UkeMYsWWbM
— Milwaukee Public Museum (@MKEPublicMuseum) January 10, 2023
What they do plan to do is to create new built-ins that create the same experience.
"We also want to be completely transparent in that many favorite exhibit elements from MPM will be in the new museum, but there will also be places where we’ll want to show you something new," MPM tweeted.
- CHECK OUT THE NEW MUSEUM: Renderings for new Milwaukee Public Museum building released
In short, the museum says there will be a "highly-immersive walkthrough of Milwaukee" but it will not be called 'Streets of Old Milwaukee' because all exhibits are getting new names.
Madeline Anderson, an MPM representative, joined TMJ4 News on Tuesday to share what we can expect to see. (Watch Anderson's full conversation with TMJ4 News in the video at the top of this article.)
“We are going to have a gallery all about Milwaukee. It is going to explore Milwaukee’s history, Milwaukee’s culture, Milwaukee’s nature. It’s not going to be called the Streets of Old Milwaukee, but it's going to feel a lot like it,” Anderson said. “We think people are going to be very pleased when they get more information about this. This is all we are going to share right now.”
Anderson said the museum received questions about the Streets of Old Milwaukee prior to the online outcry.
“We certainly were prepared for this passionate response,” she said. “We think people are going to be very excited for what we are gonna unveil this spring. There will be a gallery all about Milwaukee and it will have a very similar feel.”
The Streets of Old Milwaukee first opened in 1965. The exhibit continues to be the most visited spot in the Public Museum, according to their website.
The museum also shared there are millions of objects behind the scenes that have never been on display but will now be showcased. There are even some objects they hope to have on rotation so visitors can see different collections each time they come.
MPM will release a first peek at the new exhibits in the spring. You can read the museum's full response on its Twitter thread.
