The proposed Heritage Harbor Museum has hit another hurdle in its long drive to become one of the state premier visitor attractions: the Rhode Island Historical Society has pulled out as one of the museum's 19 partner organizations. The withdrawal is significant because the historical society conceived the idea of Heritage Harbor, and its role in promoting the museum over the past two decades has been so crucial that the society at one point was designated as the museum's "managing partner."

A joint statement by the historical society and Heritage Harbor says the society declined to sign a "participation agreement" that outlined the relationship between the member organizations and the museum, which intends to showcase the state's ethnic and industrial history.

In an interview, R. Mark Davis, Heritage Harbor's executive director, described the parting as "friendly," and driven by the historical society's concern with developing a new strategic plan before it makes ongoing commitments with other groups. Davis says that the two organizations hope to have a working relationship in which Heritage Harbor will be able to borrow and display some of the Historical Society's thousands of artifacts and papers detailing the state's history.

And he still hopes that the historical society may rejoin Heritage Harbor in the future, saying that the society's failure to sign the participation agreement is "more like a delay than an ending."

Roger N. Begin, the former lieutenant governor who heads the Historical Society's governing board, says the joint statement sums up the society's position. The statement says, "The two organizations continue to maintain cooperative and collegial relations as they work toward fulfillment of their respective missions and goals."

But the society's balkiness comes at a time when questions are being raised about the museum's financial viability. (See "Museum piece," News, December 6, 2002, and "Providence council raises concerns on Heritage Harbor," This just in, January 3). Among concerns raised by critics, most of whom have remained anonymous, is whether Heritage Harbor can attract at least 300,000 visitors a year, since the museum will depend on ticket revenue for much of its income.

By comparison, one of the state's most popular attractions, The Breakers mansion in Newport, has attendance of 400,000 to 450,000 a year after decades of operation, and Mystic Seaport in Connecticut has about 350,000.

But Davis and others, including Albert T. Klyberg, former director of the historical society and now Heritage Harbor's director of museum and program, have said attendance projections are conservative and were developed by consultants who surveyed 74 museums across the country.

Last December, the city of Providence delayed authorizing a $9 million federal Housing and Urban Development loan, part of the $59 million financing of the museum, which plans to open in the fall of 2005 in a cavernous former electric power plant on the Providence waterfront.

Davis says that after a meeting between museum and city officials recently, Heritage Harbor agreed to pay $10,000 so that the city can hire an expert in museum finances to analyze the Heritage Harbor money projections.

Davis says the Providence Jewelry Museum, which also had delayed signing the participation agreement, now has ratified the document. In addition, the Hellenic American Historical Society of Rhode Island has joined as a new Heritage Harbor partner.

Issue Date: February 7 - 13, 2003