Our area lost a treasure on March 1st. One of the most comprehensive and well designed doll museums in the world closed it's doors. 
Opened in 1992, it was built specifically to house doll collections, and the design of the display cases, lighting, and interactive features were well thought out and implemented.
It was a fun place for the young and old alike, and there were surprises to be found througout.
A admires a doll that her great-grandmother could have played with as a child 100 years ago.
My mom and Little K watch a video loop about mechanical dolls -- ones that could be wound up and made to walk, wave, talk, cry, or roll their eyes. These were major innovations 3 generations ago.
There were many different types of groupings. Above was a school scene, below a hospital. The dolls within were from different countries and from different time periods. Other display cases had just one type of doll, such as kewpie dolls.
At the doll museum you learned not only about design, manufacture, and trends, but also about world history, different cultures, and countries. How during depressions and war shortages parents and artists adapted materials and kept making dolls. How some dolls were made for play, and others only for art and display.
When a business fails, you wonder why. "Because people didn't come" isn't a good excuse. There is a reason why they didn't come, and it is not just the economy to blame. Each time I visited the museum, even on Saturdays, it was empty. I'd tell other people about it, especially moms of girls who were going through a doll-crazy stage, and every time the response would be, "There's a doll museum here? Really? Where?"
Through the years I talked with musuem staff about their need to advertise. There were so many lost opportunities. They could have arranged regular tours for groups from retirement homes. They could have reached out to Girl Scouts and created a scavenger hunt and simple paper-folding craft that met a badge requirement. They needed to get their visiting exhibits profiled in the local newspaper and on local blogs or TV. Maybe they tried some of these things through the years, but it wasn't consistent enough. In the 6 years I've been in Girl Scouting I've heard about yoga studios, science workshops, cake decorators, zoo overnights, and other private businesses and museums, but never the doll museum. Why?
When the American Girl company opened a retail store and cafe in Washington, I wondered why the doll musuem and the American Girl Company didn't forge a reciprical relationship. Imagine if each new American Girl doll came with a coupon for one admission to the doll musuem. The museum had a great display about American Girl dolls and the museum promoted the collecting and accessorizing of dolls, which would be good for American Girl's sales. Just another failed opportunity, unfortunately.
If this were a sports stadium, the local goverment would swoop in to rescue it at tax payer expense. Nearby there is an art museum which failed in 2003, after 50 years, due to bad management, but it reopened in 2005 with support from the city and new donors. This museum is far superior to the art museum a few blocks away, which is simply lots of empty space with sparse displays of mostly modern art that has narrow appeal. The problem is, male donors aren't interested in dolls, and little boys would rather have their teeth drilled than be dragged to a doll museum with their sisters. Even if you hated modern art, you'd proabably boast about donating to an art museum, whereas if you were a man, you wouldn't want people to know you liked a doll museum, it would just be too uncool.
I'm glad that my daughters are old enough to have enjoyed and experienced this museum. Neither of them are "doll-crazy," but they appreciate the art, the details, and the attraction of doll collecting. I'm really sorry that they won't be able to share this with their daughters someday. I wasn't much into dolls as a child, but I like textile arts, so I loved looking at the hand-sewn and embroidered clothing the dolls wore.
What will become of the collection is truly sad. Many of the items were donated, and I'm sure those donors thought their beloved dolls would be preserved for posterity. It looks like some of the collection is going to be sold. I've always felt that exquisite and rare artworks should be on display in museums, for many to enjoy, rather than on the shelf in a box in some collector's home. In the museum they are in climate and light controlled cases to prevent deterioration. There is a fire sprinkler system throughout the building (but not in the cases, of course), and security against theft. In the museum these treasures are protected. Once sold, these valuable pieces of history have an uncertain fate.
If you'd like to read more about the museum's last day, with insights from the owner, you can read an article about it here.
Hello!
It's very sad that this museum will be closed. I'm a museum educator, and doll fun, and my dream is to working in a doll museum, like this. It's fantastic! The dolls, and the arrangement too. Great collection.
You are right, now the museum must open to new media.
Greetings from Hungary(Europe)
Posted by: Erdohati Orsolya | Thursday, April 05, 2012 at 01:01 PM