By Haley Gray
The Museum of Boulder, formerly known as the Boulder History Museum, begins renovations on its new building at 2205 Broadway in October. The new location is expected to be partially open next fall and fully operational in the summer of 2018.
In the meantime, the old Boulder History Museum at 1206 Euclid Ave. remains open by appointment.
The new space should be worth the wait. Exhibits will focus on Boulder’s past, present and future, starting with interactive exhibits that shed light on the area’s early Arapaho Indians (including Chief Niwot), the founding of the university, and the influx of hippies in the 1960s, and culminates with exhibits that celebrate Boulder’s contemporary role in technological innovation. The MOB design includes a new terrace with sweeping Flatirons views.
The institution is moving to the old Masonic Lodge building at Broadway and Pine Street after Boulder voters’ 2014 approval of the 2A Temporary Sales Tax, which will provide matching funds to the museum’s fundraising efforts up to $4 million. Museum executive director Nancy Geyer says the museum had raised $2.5 million from grants and private and corporate donors (including Google) as of press time, and hopes to raise $11 million.
