Arabia Steamboat Museum Looking for New Home

[FangKC]

Jan. 18, 2005

Arabia Steamboat Museum considers a change of port

By BRIAN BURNES The Kansas City Star

The Arabia Steamboat Museum, a popular family-cultural attraction in the River Market, is casting about for a new home.

The Hawley family, which excavated the wrecked 19th-century steamboat Arabia and salvaged its contents, is negotiating with an Independence foundation about moving the collection there. The family also has met with Union Station officials.

Since 1991, the boat and its contents have been on display at 400 Grand Blvd., in the River Market north of downtown. About 130,000 visitors a year view the assortment of preserved pre-Civil War china, glassware, boots, buttons and other artifacts that were on board the Arabia when it sank on its way to Parkville in 1856.

Independence officials hope to raise more than $20 million to establish Festival Park, a new facility that could house the Arabia. Of that, almost $10 million would be used to move the Arabia and finance future steamboat excavations by the Hawleys.

Family members said they were driven by a desire to find a permanent home for the artifacts. In the Independence scenario, ownership of the collection would be transferred to the nonprofit Independence Legacy Foundation while the Hawleys would continue to archive, preserve and add to the collection.

“We don't live forever,â€

[FangKC]

Under no circumstances can Kansas City afford to lose this attraction to a suburban city. It has to be moved to Union Station. This is a huge opportunity for the City and Union Station. We can't let it slip away.

[KansasCityCraka]

I don't really care where it goes in the metro as long as it stays in KC

[scooterj]

If the museum stays happy and City Market can then replace the void, then maybe I'm okay with them moving. Especially if Union Station can beat out Independence. Originally I had been more worried about the eastern third of City Market having a huge two-story space empty on top of the rest of its emptiness. But not if that could be turned into an awesome restaurant. Or even better, a 2-level urban grocer.

[KCK]

Lets get that thing over here to KCK.

[KCPowercat]

Lets get that thing over here to KCK.

Make your own attractions

[staubio]

I agree. It is very important that we keep our hands around this.

That said, I like the Union Station location better. It doesn't really fit in the City Market, with its small scale shops and neighborhood vibe. If they can fill that space with other catalysts of activity that serve the neighborhood, we'll be helping the market and Union Station.

[KCPowercat]

hopefully the union station board can get this, sounded like the the Indy plan has much more details to it at this point.

There better not be state money going to that plan.

I too like the Arabia exhibit out of the river market area and into Union Station.

[cdschofield]

I wouldn't miss it in the River Market and I think it would probably be better for that building if it was gone as far as use for that area goes. But my first reaction to the visitor numbers is that they would probably drop in half if the Arabia was moved to Independence and triple if moved to Union Station. The Arabia museum is a cool and unique attraction but to think those 130,000 vistors were drawn only by the museum and not in addition to the River Market is naive.

[tat2kc]

the urban grocer comment is a good one. That space would make a great place for a grocer, if it could be done in such a way as to not adversely impact the farmer's market folks.

[jerry12]

Harrison Price will do a study projecting 1.5 million visitors spending $30 each at Union Station. There will then be a sales tax to pay for the new attraction. And you know how it turned out last time.

[Slappy the Wang]

the urban grocer comment is a good one. That space would make a great place for a grocer, if it could be done in such a way as to not adversely impact the farmer's market folks.

I agree and don't believe it would impact the farmers market at all. They're two different things.

[KC0KEK]

Harrison Price will do a study projecting 1.5 million visitors spending $30 each at Union Station. There will then be a sales tax to pay for the new attraction. And you know how it turned out last time.

Right. A steamboat exhibit will really pack 'em in.

[KansasCityCraka]

Well you might be suprised I know that a lot of those people that are visiting are students dragged there for a field trip.

[GRID]

I would love to see them go to US, but I doubt they will, not without a ton of public money.

Independence will offer some hefty incentives.

It could work at either location, there are actually a lot of attractions around the proposed Independence location.

I just want to see them stay in KC, that is an awesome museum.

[FangKC]

I just seems to be a natural fit at Union Station--adding another transportation-related exhibit there. Steamboats and railroads help build this city after all.

As far as the Arabia Museum attendance numbers go, I'm sure a lot of schools do take field trips there. But the Steamboat Arabia Museum does do a lot of television advertising as well. I can't think of any other museums that do any television advertising. I would imagine that the Arabia Museum would continue to do TV ads if it moved to Union Station, which would indirectly promote Union Station when the location was given for the Arabia Museum.

That television advertising probably brings in a lot of people from the region outside of Kansas City that are in our TV viewing market. I grew up in a small town 80 miles NW of KC and we took field trips here several times. My family that still lives in that area get KC TV channels. People in outlying areas only know about these types of attractions from TV ads.

Another advantage of having the Arabia Museum at Union Station is that it would add another attraction in that area that could create critical mass for tourism and school field trips. In a small area, you would be able to see a great train station, a rail museum, the steamboat museum, the Science Museum, a Planetarium, the Liberty War Memorial Museum, the Federal Reserve Bank Museum/tour, Kaleidoscope at Hallmark, the Hallmark Visitors Center, The Coterie Theatre for kids, American Heartland Theatre, City Stage, Extreme Screen, and probably even a school tour of the IRS Processing Facility. All of these attractions would be within walking distance of each other, and Crown Center is nearby with its restaurants / food court.

As it stands now, people staying at the Hyatt or Westin Crown Center probably walk through Union Station and look around, but there is little else for them to do there--especially adults with teenagers. However, the rail museum and Arabia Museum would be the kind of exhibits that would attract "walk-up" business.

Having so many attractions in one small area has great appeal for school friend trips since the bus can be parked in one location and several attractions visited. Older students that can look after themselves can be allowed the freedom to pick their own attraction based on their interests. It gives school administrators the oppportunity to please a wider variety of their older students on these field trips.

The close proximity of these attractions makes it easier for the Convention and Visitors Bureau to promote them and publish sightseeing maps showing their location in a small area. It makes it easier to post attraction wayfinding signs that serve more than one attraction.

Federal Reserve Bank Museum, Liberty War Memorial Museum ---->

Hallmark Visitor's Center, Kaleidoscope, Coterie Theater, Amerian Heartland Theater -------->

Union Station, transportation museum, Steamboat Arabia Museum, City Stage, Extreme Screen, Planetarium, Science City --------->

Steamboat Arabia Museum
http://www.1856.com/

http://www.hmkaleidoscope.com/

http://www.thecoterie.com/

http://hallmarkvisitorscenter.com

American Heartland Theater
http://www.ahtkc.com

http://www.unionstation.org/

City Stage, Extreme Screen
http://www.unionstation.org/theater.cfm

http://www.libertymemorialmuseum.org/

Federal Reserve Bank Tour
http://www.kc.frb.org/pubaffrs/kansascity.htm

[dangerboy]

According to Mike Hendricks, the Hawleys want to dig up another boat. Not just the artifacts, but the *entire* boat. No way that would fit in the current location. But it would have plenty of room at Union Station...

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascit ... 676253.htm

[jerry12]

Bottom line is museums ALWAYS lose money. Therefore there must be government and/or private support. Union Station blew through their private support. The Chamber boys should be forced to pony up for Union Station because they are the ones who conned the voters into supporting a plan that was doomed from the start.

I love the Steamboat Arabia museum and it is amazing that it is privately run. I suspect it does not make money and now they want to hand it over to someone else. Any proposal should only go forward with a genuine feasibiltiy study - not some whores hired by the KC Chamber.

[scooterj]

I love the Steamboat Arabia museum and it is amazing that it is privately run. I suspect it does not make money and now they want to hand it over to someone else. Any proposal should only go forward with a genuine feasibiltiy study - not some whores hired by the KC Chamber.

Actually this museum is very profitable and the family wants to make sure it doesn't go away at all, that's why thei're looking for a permanant home.

[tat2kc]

this would be a great fit for the station, both the arabia, and the new boat they are working on now. However, someone is going to have to step up and fund the aquisition of these two projects. As much money as the station is loosing, they can ill afford to fund the moving and set up of two river boats to Union Station, much less the upkeep and further archeological studies that would be warranted.

I hope this comes to Union Station, and that someone will help fund this.