Where We Plan To Be
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
OF VISIONS AND VISIONARIES
When
Elmer and I founded the nation's first wax museum of African
American history in a storefront in 1983, little did we
know that we were laying the foundation for what would
become a national treasure. Those individuals who frequent
The National Great Blacks In Wax Museum bear witness to
our dramatic growth over the years. We have used virtually
all of the 15,000 square feet of space in what was once
an abandoned firehouse. Our annual visitors has skyrocketed
over the past decade, going from 43,000 in 1989 to more
than 200,000 today. Fifty-three percent of our visitors
come from outside Maryland. They hail from every state
in the nation including Alaska and Hawaii. Internationally,
Japan, Israel, Africa, England, Germany, Spain, Poland
and many other countries are represented in our visitor
profile. The Great Blacks In Wax Museum story has been
heralded by news media around the world, including CNN,
The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The New
York Times, The Chicago Sun Times, The Dallas Morning
News, Kulturwelt, USA/Africa, The Los Angeles Times, Air
Tran's Go Magazine, USA Today, Crisis, Essence Magazine,
Ebony Magazine, Good Morning America, ABC World News Tonight,
BET, CBS Sunday Morning, To Tell the Truth, the CBS News
Early Show, Spike TV and CN8.
There are many great things on the horizon. We are extremely
excited about our $50 million dollar capital campaign.
The success of More Than a Museum, "The Campaign for The
National Great Blacks In Wax Museum, Inc. will enable
us to develop an even greater institution as we enter
the 21st century. The groundwork for the capital improvements
is already being laid, and will ultimately enable the
Museum to expand along the entire 1600 block of East North
Avenue.
With the completion of our acquisition program, we have
acquired not only the entire 1600 block of North Avenue,
but also Eareckson Place and Bethel Street in the Museum's
rear. We are embarking on a four-phase campaign to expand
from our current location of 15,000 sq. ft. to over 120,000
sq. ft. of interactive exhibitions. The City of Baltimore
worked with the Museum to acquire the properties from
Bond to Dallas Streets in the 1500 block of North Avenue
for the development of a commercial district of "tourism-friendly"
businesses.
53 properties in the rear of The Great Blacks In Wax
Museum have been demolished and will result in off street
parking for the museum; residential rear yard landscaping;
placement of underground utilities servicing the residents
of Bond, Lafayette, Broadway streets, and the National
Great Blacks In Wax Museum. This space will be converted
into a courtyard. Within it there will be developed the
Elmer P. Martin Memorial Garden, a parking area, and a
museum main entrance. Thus the rear area, which currently
encompasses a dangerous and unappealing space, is being
transformed into an inviting focal point where visitors
will park their cars or de-board their buses to enter
the new Museum. The main entryway is being designed to
immediately orient the visitor to the compelling history
about to be experienced. On North Avenue, itself the front
facades will be restored while new construction will lead
to a continuous state of the art facility.
Clearly, The Great Blacks In Wax Museum will have a profound
impact on the East North Avenue corridor. As we prepare
to meet the challenges of expansion, we recognize clearly
the critical need to work toward the beautification and
physical renewal of the Oliver Community, where the Museum
is located.
The city of Baltimore and state of Maryland have committed
to providing support for this project, and Congressman
Elijah Cummings and Senator Barbara Mikulski are championing
our cause through the federal government.
Essentially then, our expansion program represents an
effort to build a public/private partnership designed
to create a stronger Great Blacks In Wax Museum more able
to promote neighborhood revitalization, tourism, and cultural
awareness.
For Elmer and me, a primary motivation for establishing
the Museum was to "use education, history, and example
to help mainly culturally disadvantaged youth overcome
feelings of alienation, defeatism, and despair". Of the
hundreds of thousands of people who visit the museum each
year, many are African American children. As a result
of their exposure to the Museum and its programs, these
young people know more about their heritage and have a
greater understanding of significant contributions to
civilization by people of African descent. Ultimately,
they are better prepared to challenge those who would
tell them they have no history worth remembering. And
by reaching out to culturally diverse communities, Great
Black In Wax can show that people can celebrate their
differences and all that makes them members of the human
family.
From the beginning, my husband Elmer had a clear vision
for shaping and guiding the Museum. The ability to move
forward in fulfilling that vision requires a concerted
effort of the general public who support the work of the
museum by visiting and contributing; elected officials
who are advocates for the institution's continued growth
and development; and private and public funders willing
to invest not only in a cultural past but also in the
future of succeeding generations, helping them become
secure in their place in history and knowledgeable of
their historical role in the making and shaping of the
world in which they live.
The National Great Blacks In Wax Museum will always remain
true to the vision of my late husband Elmer. We are committed
to remaining a place of legacies, one that tells our stories
and tells them well
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