New Haven Museum

Mission

The New Haven Museum stimulates inquiry, increases understanding and fosters appreciation of greater New Haven's history and heritage.

Needs Statement

The list below contains major projects that will require several years to complete. Some of the projects, including the stabilization and restoration of the Pardee-Morris House and the digitization of the collections, have already begun. All are multi-year projects. * Expand storage for the collections in a physically and environmentally secure location. * Expand and rehabilitate gallery space. Upgrades include new lighting, security devices, and new display cases. * Upgrade equipment and systems, per a 2011 feasibility study by the firm Gregg Wies & Gardner Architects * Continue to inventory the art, artifact, and graphics collections. Continue to inventory and digitize the 70,000+ images in the Photo Archive. Integrate art, artifacts, images and archives to optimize operational capabilities. Make collections accessible to researchers online. * Repair library steps and railing.* Reshingle main roof of Pardee-Morris House* Regrade site to direct surface water away from Pardee-Morris House

Impact Statement

Under the leadership of a new executive director since 2012, the New Haven Museum has continued the momentum begun during its 150th anniversary year. Highlights of 2018 included commemorating the centennial of World War I with two exhibitions, The Courier: Tales from the Great War and Gilbert Jerome: New Haven's WWI Aviator; raising funds to transform a storage area into a new second-floor gallery highlighting the photo archive and manuscript collections; welcoming more than 10,500 visitors to the Museum and the historic Pardee-Morris House, including 1180 students; restoring eleven cupola and dormer windows on the Museum's building and enhancing our curb appeal with repairs to the front entrance, cheek walls, brick landing, railings and concrete patio. Our 2017 exhibition, Road Trip, was recognized with an Award of Merit from the Connecticut League of History Organizations, and the Publications Committee of the New England Museum Association awarded us an Honorable Mention for our Pardee-Morris House marketing material. In 2019, the Museum aims to build its school and family audiences under the leadership of a new education director and through deeper engagement with the New Haven Public Schools. It will continue to improve the physical condition of its buildings, including restoring 11 library stack windows of its Museum building, and reshingling the main roof of the historic Pardee-Morris House in Morris Cove, which is open seasonally for free tours, concerts, and programs. Through continued participation in training workshops and related technical support, the board will work on strengthening it committee structure and fundraising.

CEO statement

For one hundred and fifty years, the New Haven Museum has collected and displayed the region's historic artifacts in its museum and library. The organization remains the focal point for bringing the past to the present with programs and collections relating to culture, industry, commerce, government, religion, and ethnicity. The museum not only provides permanent displays of the past, but offers significant research opportunities in its collections and library. The museum has an extensive collection of paintings, furniture and decorative arts, as well as artifacts and a wide-ranging photographic collection from the region. The New Haven Museum also owns the oldest house in the City of New Haven, the Pardee-Morris House dating back to the 18th century, where programs are offered to the community. The Museum's mission is to be a vibrant information and cultural center that presents lectures, instructional programs, changing exhibits, film series, and musical performances. The goal is to reach out to new audiences and new markets through personal contact, programs and coordination with other regional organizations. The New Haven region has changed dramatically, moving from an industrial base to an information, technology and research environment. The museum must meet the new demands of this environment. It must incorporate new technologies into exhibits and programs and shift the program emphasis from collecting artifacts to providing exciting educational opportunities for various audiences. As the environment and the communities change, the New Haven Museum must also change; that is the challenge and the future.

Board Chair Statement

Areas Served Narrative

The New Haven Museum serves the City of New Haven and its surrounding region.

CEO statement (optional)