PHOENIX (AP) - The Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum closed its doors for a makeover in 2011, and it has remained dark ever since.
The institution’s future remains uncertain five years after then-Gov. Jan Brewer promised an elaborate upgrade to the facility for the state’s 100th anniversary, the Arizona Republic reports (https://bit.ly/1Su302J ). Brewer’s plan died out when fundraising fizzled, but the museum had already closed in preparation for the changes.
Lawmakers recently passed a bill that would have reopened the museum using private funds, but the measure was vetoed by Gov. Doug Ducey last month. He said the effort needs a plan.
Money is a major obstacle to the return of the 18,000 square foot museum. Officials estimate that reinstating the institution would take $2.1 million.
Senate President Andy Biggs, a Gilbert Republican, voted for the bill to reopen the museum. The building hides “some pretty cool stuff” in its basement and sucks up tens of thousands of dollars a year in maintenance costs.
The building today consumes almost as much money as it did when it was a museum: In 2010, the state spent $492,000 in operating costs, compared to the $360,800 currently allocated for the unused building.
But Biggs says the museum isn’t likely to open any time soon.
“Not when you say $2.1 million to me,” he said.
The Mining and Mineral Museum had been a popular draw for school field trips, with busloads of children visiting the Capitol to see its rows of custom-built cases displaying a collection that had been kept at state fairgrounds for nearly seven decades.
“It was absolutely magical the way the students were enthralled with the specimens,” said former curator Jan Rasmussen.
“They loved the meteorites” and moon rocks, she said.
Ducey’s veto surprised supports and fueled rumors that the Arizona Historical Society, which oversees the museum, has other plans for the space.
The society’s lobbyist declined to comment on the accusations.
The historical society said it does not currently have plans to reopen the facility. Board president Leonard Marcisz acknowledged that they have considered a number of ideas for the site, including using it as a reception center or restaurant.
Those ideas scare a self-described group of “rock hounds” advocating for the facility’s return. They don’t want to see the rock and mineral exhibits disappear.
Some of the museum’s collection has been relocated to the society-owned Papago Park Museum, while others have been shared with museums statewide or languish in the basement.
Sen. Gail Griffin, a Hereford Republican who sponsored the bill to revive the museum, said she will make another attempt next year.
“Let’s get that building up and running,” she said. “Being a realtor, I can look at a building and see its potential. That building has great potential.”
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Information from: The Arizona Republic, https://www.azcentral.com
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