Voices

Museum Square

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When Jim Richerson was hired 11 years ago as the president and CEO of Lakeview Museum, it was with the idea that he lead an expansion effort for the museum.

Wow, what an expansion that turned out to be.

  In little more than a year from now the new Peoria Riverfront Museum will open, the culmination of a dozen years of planning, sweating, fundraising and construction that was often infused with doubt and skepticism.

"We're close now to realizing something that has been pretty amazing to see come together," Richerson said recently while showing off the site of the new museum. "The whole idea of the collaboration coming together like this has been amazing. And here we are."

The collaboration of which he speaks involves several entities that came together to acquire, fund and build the area near Peoria's riverfront known as Museum Square.

Once known as the Sears block bordered by Washington, Main, Water and Liberty streets, Museum Square will house not only the new 86,000 square-foot Riverfront Museum, but also the new 50,000 square-foot Caterpillar Inc. visitor's center.

"Caterpillar makes this project international in scope. Their building is our stage to the world," Richerson said.

"From Caterpillar's perspective it's a very important project in that this will be a place we can showcase the sustainable progress our customers make possible every day. It's very important to the community, as well, hence the investment," said Kathryn Spitznagle, project manager for Caterpillar.

The project will cost more than $140 million, with Caterpillar funding all of its visitor's center at about $37.5 million and contributing another $15 million to the museum. The rest of the funding is a combination of public and private financing, including $36 million that will come from a county sales tax increase approved in a 2010 referendum and $16 million in federal and state grants, including from NASA, the Institute for Museum and Library Sciences and various government agencies.

It all came about, Richerson said, because of the collaborative efforts of eight entities, including Lakeview Museum, Caterpillar, the Peoria Historical Society, the Illinois High School Association, the African American Hall of Fame Museum, the Peoria Regional Museum Society, the Nature Conservancy and Heartland Foundation.

The collaboration, he added, was proposed by then-U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood, now the U.S. Secretary of Transportation. It made sense, Richerson said, considering Lakeview Museum was formed through a collaboration of several entities more than 50 years ago. "Such an effort was the foundation of Lakeview and it obviously worked well," he said.

The partners, Richerson said, bring a combined 500 years experience educating and supporting culture in Peoria, and thus providing the cornerstone to the Museum Square mission statement adopted by the Riverfront Museum board of directors: "To inspire lifelong learning for all – connecting art, history, science and achievement through collections, exhibitions and programs."

As it often is with projects of such scope, this one was not without some controversy, mostly about the cost to the public. The months leading to the tax referendum were tense because without the new county tax the new museum likely would not be built. Without the museum, the Caterpillar Experience visitor's center would not be built; that's something the company made very clear.

"From the start we considered this a community project, involving the entire community. That's why we said if there was no museum there would be no visitor's center," Spitznagle said. "If the community didn't feel it was important enough to support through the referendum, then it really wasn't needed."

Richerson and others spent months selling the tax hike. Richerson said he alone made 104 presentations about the project leading to the referendum. He would end those presentations, after laying out all that would be in Museum Square, Caterpillar's participation and what it would mean to the region, asking, "How can we afford not to grab this opportunity?"

It was a close vote, but the tax was approved. "That we got the votes we needed speaks to a certain 'in your face' quality we have here. People saw the vision. The cost to the average Peorian will be about $17, the cost of a pizza basically, but the return and the legacy and opportunity it creates means much more," Richerson said.

The project underwent a pair of major revisions from the first plans laid out years ago, both scaling back the size. But Richerson said he believes when the museum opens in October 2012, "it will be the right-sized project for this community. We've been at this now more than 10 years and we believe we have used that time to make it better."

That includes making it a green project. Builders have recycled about 90 percent of the material that was on the Sears block, for example. Energy efficient mechanical systems will be installed, including solar panels and low-flow fixtures.

Another example shows forward thinking: There will be 15 parking spots in the underground garage that will allow for electric cars to be plugged in and recharged.

"It is our responsibility to be a learning platform. Sustainability is and will be part of that, through innovation and creativity. When we see what this project may inspire other people to do it is amazing," he said.

Some people question whether there will be enough traffic to make the museum self-sustaining. Richerson said the museum projects there will be 360,000 visitors a year to Museum Square, bringing $7 million to $14 million into the community. The Caterpillar Experience will be a large driver of that, he added, because of its worldwide reach and appeal.

Spitznagle said Caterpillar also believes its visitor center will be a major draw. Its research into the kind of draws visitor's centers of other iconic brands – including Deere & Co. and Harley-Davidson – shows the interest people have in how the industry works and the products are made, she added.

"The neatest thing about the center will be showcasing our customers and the work they do all over the world with our products," she said. To that end the visitor's center will have several pieces of equipment in it that patrons will be able to see and touch and get an idea how the equipment is used around the world.

A replica of a Caterpillar 797 mining truck, the largest of its kind in the world, will be in the center, with the bed of the truck being a theatre for patrons to see an overview of the company.

Richerson said the museum exhibits will remain fluid to keep people coming back.

"This project has challenged us in our conventional thinking," he said. "We have to keep the public interested. We will; our only limitation will be our imagination."

Zeiss Powerdome Planetarium
The flights through the Milky Way and beyond the solar system that are now seen at the Lakeview Museum planetarium will be larger and more brilliant at the Zeiss Powerdome Planetarium.

Giant Screen Digital Theater
At six stories high and seven stories wide, the giant movie screen at the Riverfront Museum extends beyond the field of vision. It will have ultra-sharp images and an audio system generating up to 14,000 watts of power, along with 3-D capabilities.

The Street
Sponsored by the Peoria Historical Society, The Street is an exhibit designed to immerse visitors in more than 300 years of Peoria's rich history. It will include the Wall of Fame, sponsored by Peoria's African American Hall of Fame Museum honoring local individuals for their outstanding contributions to the Peoria African-American community.

The River
This exhibit will enable visitors to explore the Illinois River's three major ecosystems and peek into habitats to discover the animal life there. A geological timeline will teach visitors about the river's history and a simulation will show what it's like to pilot a towboat pushing barges on the river.

Peak Performance Center
The center, sponsored by the Illinois High School Association, will allow visitors to test their fitness levels in several sports and activities, from basketball to wrestling to chess and music.

Discovery World
Discovery World 1 is for children up to age 6 and will engage their minds and bodies as they crawl through an obstacle course, build block structures or do other activities that enhance creativity, vocabulary and motor skills. Discovery World 2, for kids age 7 to 12, will introduce creative expression and problem solving.

Fine Arts Gallery
Visitors will see more than 600 works of art spanning three centuries of Midwestern culture, while many pieces from Lakeview's collection – including its Rodin sculpture and Frank Lloyd Wright chair – will be displayed.

International Features Gallery
This exhibit will continue Lakeview's tradition of bringing world-renowned exhibitions to Peoria. The gallery space will be three times that of Lakeview's, enabling larger exhibits to be viewed.

Interactive Learning
The museum will offer educational programs to serve school groups, continuing education programs, school outreach and professional development. The Illinois River Learning Center will have studios, classrooms, a library, community meeting space and an auditorium.

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