AND WHILE I'M AT IT, WHERE'S THE VAN ANDEL IN THE VAN ANDEL PUBLIC MUSEUM?

A curious thing caught my attention in yesterday's Grand Rapids Press.  Reporter Jim Harger had a front-page story on the prospect of the "Public Museum of Grand Rapids" going private because of the City's interminable budget crunch.  Not once in his article did Harger refer to the museum by its recent moniker, the Van Andel Museum Center.

A decade ago some of the funding for the construction of a new building for our public museum came from the late Amway billionaire Jay Van Andel, which resulted in his name getting pasted on it.  However, it is apparent that no additional funds will be coming from the Van Andel family to keep the doors of the public museum open as the City winds down its $1.9 million annual subsidy to zilch.  That's OK.  The Van Andels have no obligation to donate their money to the operation of their namesake museum, and so if we aren't going to call it the Van Andel Museum any longer, that's OK too.

I wonder if that same principle should apply to the Van Andel Institute?  (See article below.)

Comments

[Mannie]

Hiya,

Harger is quite correct. the Van Andel Museum center is just the name of the building

The institution itself is called the Public Museum of Grand Rapids, which includes the Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium, The VanAndel Museum Center, the Historic Voigt House Museum, and Blandford Natur...oh wait, sorry, I forgot they unloaded it for some quick cash.

I know this because for over a decade I had it drilled into my head as a staff member on how to correctly diffrentiate between these abstractions (yawn).

Now, four years gone, with normal blood pressure, they could rename it the "new fanatorium" for all I care.

Cheers, from Western Maryland

[The Executive Director]

Hello, Mannie.

Thanks for the distinction between the museum as an organization and the museum as a building. Good luck in western Maryland. It's a beautiful part of the world.

Regards,
Bill Tingley
Executive Director