Well it took us many months to get our new websites up and running . . . what do you think? Much discussion went into the whole "do we do one website for both museums or two seperate sites?" before we even got started in the process. This of course, meant was I going to do one or two blogs for the museums?
While I am sure many of you will be dying to know my every thought about museum happenings, I am only prepared to write one. The beauty of a blog is that I get to give you more details on events, let you come behind the scenes of how the museums work (and sometimes don't work!), add additional photos (the staff should be careful - I'm looking to do great candid shots) and hopefully give you additional reasons to discover the Charles Allis and Villa Terrace and many of the new events we are offering.
So . . .
some facts you may (or may not) find interesting -
Did you know that the Charles Allis and Villa Terrace are "sister" museums about half a mile apart from each other? Did you know that one staff runs both? That's right, there are 4 management staff members primarially based out of the Allis and 3 based out of the Villa. We all spend time going between the two buildings working on exhibits, showing the facilities for private event rentals, meeting with vendors, artists and interns. Often, I have to look around when I answer the phone to figure out which musuem I am at! I confess to answering the phone at the Villa more than once with "Thank you for calling the Charles Allis", then having to explain that I "goofed".
The Allis has a bowling alley in the basement. We've thought about doing a fall event with bowling, brats and beer just so the bowling alley gets some use!
The Villa garage had a turntable so when you drove a car into the garage, the houseman would "spin" the turntable so you drove out of the garage without having to "back out". I'd be happy just to have a garage!
Some staff members believe the Allis is haunted (not ME) and we had one contracted cleaning person who would not be in the building by herself because of the ghosts (she's now working someplace that isn't haunted).
Most 2 bedroom apartments have less square footage then the Villa's kitchen, pantry and butler's panty have. And the Villa had an apartment on the 2nd floor for the caretaker (now staff offices and storage rooms).
We've kicked around doing a "behind the scenes" event and see how many folks would get lost in the basement at the Villa or turned around by the variety of staircases at the Allis.
Like the buildings, where there are always suprises, interesting tidbits and oddities, I hope to bring you the same thing with this blog. I'll post here a couple of times a week and welcome your comments. So stay tuned!
