The
Memphis Pink Palace Family of Museums is in the midst of an overhaul.
The museum operator--which controls The Pink Palace,
Lichterman Nature Center and
Mallory-Neely House, among other attractions--recently converted its giant screen theater to RealD 3D digital. It is underway on a major renovation to the
Sharpe Planetarium, which will feature full-dome digital technology when it reopens in March. It is also repairing and restoring all the windows at Mallory-Neely House.
And, in perhaps its most ambitious project, it is working on a total re-imagination of the Pink Palace Mansion itself, which will bring new exhibits, better flow and a more current feel.
Part of the Pink Palace's charm is its vintage vibe, and Director Steve Pike says the goal is to maintain the favorites while updating the facility.
"We can't throw away the shrunken head," he says. "A lot of that vintage aspect we want to keep, but we just need to update it and be more current."
While the 40,000 square feet of new exhibits in its main building are the capstone of the master plan, the museum decided to start with the smaller projects. The theater renovation cost $850,000, the planetarium is expected to cost $1.5 million, and the mansion will run more than $4 million.
Renovations won't start inside the museum until 2016;
Askew Nixon Ferguson is the project architect.
With the addition of the 3D digital projector, the CTI Giant Theater now has the capability to show feature-length movies. The museum plans to run Monsters Inc. on Saturday afternoons in October. It also has "Finding Nemo," "Pocahontas" and "Stop Making Sense" on its upcoming schedule.
The Sharpe Planetarium officially retired its star projector in mid-September to make way for new technology. The 130-seat theater in the round will have new digital capabilities, enabling the Pink Palace to expand its programming and show variety.
Pike says the City of Memphis--which maintains the Pink Palace Family of Museums--has pledged to match up to $10 million toward the renovations. He says they have already raised a total of about $1.5 million in private funds and will launch a full-blown fundraising campaign next year.
The goal of the overhaul is simple: to drive more attendance and give a better experience. The Pink Palace is unique in that it provides multiple attractions in one stop, Pike says. It also covers natural and regional history for its base of primarily regional visitors.
"[The Pink Palace] provides a comprehensive place to understand science and the region," he says. "This is the only place that does that."
By Jane A. Donahoe
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