By Susan Breitkopf

This article was published in Museum News March/April 2005.

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper will tell you it’s sunny 300 days of the year in the mile-high city. He also might say the city’s residents are among the most educated and thinnest in the nation, that unemployment is below the national average, and Denver brews more beer than any other American city.

“A happy populace is an industrious populace,” he told Museum News in a recent interview. “Quality of life is the primary goal.”

And for Hickenlooper quality of life includes a landscape full of museums. “It is government’s role to let a city attain its cultural potential,” he said. “Our cultural strength is the foundation of our economic future.”

Although Denver’s economy is slumping in comparison to the late 1990s—the median household income is below the national average and unemployment is growing—downtown development is flourishing. “Denver is a city that has changed so dramatically over the last decade,” said Josh Freed, spokesman for U.S. Rep. Dianna DeGette, who represents Denver. “There used to not be a downtown. It now is a full-service city from a recreational standpoint. You now have a broad choice of museums, hotels, restaurants, and sports facilities to visit on a given day or night.”

This is in large part because Denver invests heavily in its museums and other cultural institutions. The seven-county metropolitan region around Denver collects one-tenth of 1 percent from a sales tax on things like cars and movie tickets and awards the money to culture. That one penny on every $10 spent translates to about $35 million annually for the region’s institutions.

According to a Colorado Business Committee for the Arts study released last year, arts and culture generated more than $1.3 billion in statewide economic activity in 2003, including $497 million in new revenue to the metro Denver economy. These institutions paid $86 million to more than 9,000 employees, making culture the region’s sixth-largest employer. Americans for the Arts’s 2004 study pegs Denver as the metropolitan area with the fourth most arts-related businesses per capita, beating out Chicago, Boston, and even New York.

Denver is not the only urban center to find success with public support of museums. Cities as varied as Tampa, Seattle, and Pittsburgh have found that museums can be part of the fabric of responsible and successful urban renewal. As critical as destination department stores, movie theaters, or sports arenas, museums can be the catalyst that brings the urban core back to life. And being the economic catalyst can mean more money, funding, resources, and visitors for a city.

Like other civic leaders across the country, Hickenlooper sees strong cultural offerings as a way to lure residents with purchasing power. “A strong and vibrant cultural community is vital to having a ‘creative class,’” he said, referring to the ideas of urban studies theorist Richard Florida. In his book The Rise of the Creative Class, Florida explores what it takes to attract “knowledge-based professionals,” including scientists, engineers, artists, musicians, designers, writers, and any other professional who brings creativity to the task at hand. The creative class, he says, “accounts for nearly half of all wage and salary income in the United States, $1.7 trillion dollars, as much as the manufacturing and service sectors combined.”

Tampa, Fla., Mayor Pam Iorio also espouses Richard Florida’s ideas, last year going so far as to establish a Creative Industries Council to keep and augment the city’s creative class. According to the council’s mission, “Companies look for locations where a talented workforce resides. Tampa can be known as a talent hotbed. . . . [A] focused approach is needed to build an economic cluster.”

Both Iorio and Hickenlooper see museums as key to spurring a downtown’s economic revitalization, thus appealing to the creative class. “The bottom line is that cities need a people climate more than . . . a business climate,” writes Florida. “This means supporting creativity across the board—in all of its various facets and dimensions—and building a community that is attractive to creative people, not just to high-tech companies. . . . Place is the key economic and social organizing unit of our time.”

And museums, culture, and the arts play a crucial role in the idea of “place,” especially when they are part of an economic revitalization plan that includes retail, residences, and other cultural offerings.

“[Cultural institutions] as a tool for economic revitalization are best when part of a mixed economic revitalization strategy,” said Randy Cohen, vice president of research and information for Americans for the Arts. “[They] are not a silver bullet. You need a broader revitalization plan. It needs to include local merchants, not just theaters or museums, but some kind of mix.”

Robert McNulty, president of Partners for Livable Communities in Washington, D.C., said when you look at economic cycles historically, museums are always ready and willing to anchor a downtown and “be the lynchpins in the economic cycle. . . . The great thing is that every time there’s a new economic wave, museums are seen as an investment, not a luxury. People rally around their increasingly high costs; they marvel at their designs.”

Museums can be that lynchpin because they attract pedestrian traffic, and therefore retail and other businesses, downtown. “Once those cultural institutions start to get a foothold, the business environment starts to grow,” said Cohen. “You see more people coming downtown. You see more restaurants, more retail.”

Case in point: Seattle. Before the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) opened downtown in 1992, the city’s downtown was “dead,” lacking both businesses and residences. According to Wendy Ceccherelli, director of the Seattle Arts Commission from 1992 to 2000, the art museum started the downtown boom. Shortly after, the symphony concert hall was built. “There was such a synergy between these cultural institutions downtown,” said Ceccherelli. “They provided a lot of stability. They provided an anchor for all of the other development.” And SAM’s success continues as it gears up for an expansion designed by Brad Cloepfil of Allied Works Architecture, Portland, Oreg., that will more than triple its gallery space by 2007.

Ceccherelli is now director of arts and cultural affairs in Tampa and she’s seeing a similar pattern for the area around the Florida Aquarium. Since 1997, the city has pumped $750,000 into the institution through the city’s general fund. It also created an artists district nearby. The subsidy and planning has paid off, with the area known as the Channelside District now booming with an influx of retail, residential developments, and hotels. “Every penny the city invested in it generated a huge amount of development,” she said. “None of that would have happened without the Florida Aquarium.”

Likewise, a huge investment in museums and cultural institutions has done well for Davenport, Iowa. In 2001 73 percent of county voters supported River Renaissance, which earmarked $113.5 million to revitalizing downtown Davenport with the River Music Experience museum that opened last year, the revamping of the Davenport Art Museum into the vastly expanded Figge Art Museum, which opens next year, and several other cultural and infrastructure projects. Residential developments, office space, and a new ball park for the minor league baseball team soon followed.

All of this activity has meant big economic news for Davenport, a city with a population of just under 100,000. It is the largest of the Quad Cities—the others are Bettendorf, Iowa, and Rock Island and Moline, Illinois—which all border the Mississippi River. “The first multi-tenant office building built in more than 20 years happened in large part because of the momentum that River Renaissance has helped create,” said Dan Huber, president and CEO, DavenportOne, the city’s independent economic development organization. “There have been more than $300 million in new investments in the last three years. That level of reinvestment in a Midwestern city of our size is unparalleled.”

“Cultivating the arts and culture is helping us reestablish our downtown as a strong central business district,” he added. “There’s no question.”

What happened in Seattle and is happening in Tampa and Davenport is not an overnight phenomenon. Said Cohen, “It requires funding, involvement from the business community, and a public-private partnership. These museums and performing arts centers need operating support to help them grow and flourish.”

Of the 21 state ballot initiatives and legislative referendums in 14 states in 2004 that would have an effect on museums and cultural institutions, the outcome of 16 ended up in favor of cultural institutions, according to Americans for the Arts (see sidebar). Of 13 relevant county or municipal ballot initiatives, 11 passed. Nationwide, voting on relevant state, municipal, or county legislation was 80 percent in favor of museums and similar institutions.

Since a ballot initiative first passed in 1988, Denver has used a portion of its sales tax, known as Science and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD), for museums and other organizations. When it came up for a vote again in 2004, it was approved by 65 percent, ensuring the funding stream will continue until 2018.

What SCFD provides for about 300 organizations in the Denver metropolitan area goes beyond funding. Because of the stable, consistent financial support, donors are more confident in the institutions, said Mary Ellen Williams, SCFD district administrator. “They say, ‘We know those organizations are financially stable, so I’m much more confident in giving a contribution.’ It reduces risk for private individuals.”

The approximately $1.8 million that the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (DMNS) gets quarterly is crucial said Laura Holtman, public relations manager. Losing SCFD funding “would limit us in what we are able to offer,” including eight admission-free days a year, an extensive volunteer training program, and two new permanent exhibits. The money was crucial in building the new atrium and terrace that look out onto the dramatically beautiful City Park with postcard-worthy views of the city’s skyline. “SCFD funding helped in that we used part of that money for fund-raising efforts,” she said.

But Denver’s formula may not work for every city. “The best solutions are locally based,” said Cohen of Americans for the Arts. “What works in one city can’t necessarily be replicated in another city. You have to adapt—everybody’s situations are so unique.”

In fact, it took five years of hard work by Rex Morgan, a trustee at DAM familiar with the legislative process, to get the initiative on the ballot. “Too many people think it’s easy to do—that it’ll take one year,” said Williams. “You need community understanding of what it takes to get backing.”

Museums can and should help it happen. “It’s important to remember that these are big political campaigns,” said Cohen. “The [museum] community should be on message and mobilized. It [takes] lot of outreach and education about the benefits of the arts, [including] economic data and tourism data. Go to the chamber of commerce; help them understand the whole notion that [museums] can be part of the economic development for their city.”

The Detroit metro region has tried twice for regional funding in recent years, missing the mark by a small percentage of votes both times. The city could use the funding. The downtown core is void of economic activity, unemployment rates are among the highest for large metropolitan regions, and the median household income is well below the national average. What’s more, a 2004 Americans for the Arts study ranks Detroit 33rd among the nation’s 50 largest cities in arts funding. Motor City allocates $802,000 yearly to arts programming and institutions versus similarly sized cities like Indianapolis ($2.6 million) and St. Louis ($4.1 million).

Why has Detroit failed in funding its cultural sector where others have succeeded? Ron Kagan, director of the Detroit Zoo, said it has a lot do with not engaging the community enough. “To a certain extent, we have not done a good enough job in explaining the true value of arts and culture to our communities,” he told Museum News. “Our institution has an annual operating budget of about $16 million, but the state measured a $70 million-a-year economic impact. That’s an incredible return on any investment. All of us have to do a better job of explaining the economic impact—not just educational and quality-of-life benefits.”

A new initiative, sponsored by Michigan State Sen. Shirley Johnson (R-Oakland County), was to be introduced this spring. It would put a 5 percent culture and arts tax on live theater, opera, professional sports, amusement parks, and the like. “We’re still trying to fine tune what we can and cannot tax,” said Brian O’Connell, Johnson’s chief of staff, adding that his office is projecting the tax would give $45 million to $50 million to arts and culture every year. Many in the state are worried about any increase in taxes given Michigan’s economic woes; it was the only state to have a net job loss in 2004, said O’Connell. With that in mind, Johnson is touting the tax as making institutions self-sufficient. “They will tax themselves,” said O’Connell. “We don’t have to worry about financing them.”

Johnson consulted culture and arts organizations statewide in drafting the legislation. That kind of partnership is essential, said Americans for the Arts’ Cohen. It’s important to have community-wide involvement in planning institutional expansion, founding, and the revitalization plan in general. “It can be very strategic for the cultural community to position themselves as part of an economic revitalization,” he said. “It can lead to more funding to the arts and culture and more access to the arts for the entire community.”

Museums should see other community leaders, including business leaders, education heads, elected officials, and members of the faith-based community, as their allies, said Cohen. “The deeper and richer the participation, the more [culture is] integrated into the community.”

Take the case of the Denver Art Museum (DAM). The museum worked with the city and a local developer on the development around its new building, slated to open in 2006. Doing its share, the city built a 980-car parking garage badly needed for museum-goers and downtown dwellers. The developer is putting up a 56-unit residential and retail development around the above-ground garage. The two structures, both designed by rising-star architect Daniel Liebeskind, are so close that the jagged spires of the museum are a mere 35 feet from some of the apartments’ dining tables. “The two pieces are like brother and sister,” said George Thorn, president of Denver-based Mile High Development, Museum Residences’ general contractor, of the Rockies-inspired, silver-encased museum versus the mixed-use development’s sheer glass exterior.

The Museum Residences development sold out in its first few months on the market. Those buying into the development are largely the empty-nester crowd, said Thorn. “They already have some connection to the art museum.”

Tampa is banking on a similar notion with its new art museum building. When the museum reopens in 2007, it will face a 381-unit residential project across the street.

The long road to economic revitalization can be paved with frustrations, but the results can be rewarding. In Tampa’s case, the residential development fits right into Iorio’s plan to see a vibrant downtown. Said Ceccherelli, “No one else had been willing to develop [there] before. The development is part of the mayor’s vision.”

Similarly, DavenportOne’s Huber has seen the ups and downs of his city’s economic renaissance. “A number of these . . . were projects that at times struggled to get off the ground and progress,” he said.

But Huber’s glass is half full. “Sometimes when a community experiences some struggles getting things done, it can begin to [affect] a community’s collective self-esteem,” he said. But as the projects come to fruition “that sense of pride and sense of can-do and that energy project a positive image.”

November’s Effect on Museums

State and local ballot initiatives voted on in November in states around the country will impact museums both positively and negatively. According to the Americans for the Arts Action Fund, of the 34 state and local initiatives it tracked, 28 passed in favor of museums. The initiatives, when part of a larger economic revitalization plan, could help museums fuel a region’s economy. Here are some examples:

2004 State Ballot Initiatives Impacting Museums

Alabama Statewide Amendment 3: Passed with 55 percent of the vote. Empowers a county commission to take actions on economic and industrial development. There is the possibility of additional funding for museums.

Arkansas Constitutional Amendment 2: Passed with 62 percent of the vote. Provisions for road and highway improvements could include cultural enhancements.

Florida Constitutional Amendment 6: Passed with 63 percent of the vote. Repeals an amendment in the Florida Constitution, freeing up billions of dollars of state funds for other projects.

Nebraska Amendment 1: Passed with 58 percent of the vote. Would help protect individuals and companies protect from higher property taxes and allow them to protect historically significant structures.

Rhode Island Question 11: Passed with 56 percent of the vote. Authorizes Historic Preservation and Heritage Bonds not to exceed $3 million to fund capital preservation for renovation projects for public and nonprofit historic sites, museums, and cultural arts centers in historic structures.

South Dakota Initiated Measure 1: Failed with 38 percent of the vote. Would have exempted food from sales and use taxes. If passed, this measure would have drastically reduced state revenue, resulting in little or no funding for museums and the arts.

Wyoming Constitutional Amendment B: Passed with 66 percent of the vote. Allows localities to appropriate from local revenue funds for an economic or industrial development project or program.

2004 Local Ballot Initiatives Impacting Museums

Denver Metro SCFD Initiative: Passed with 65 percent of the vote on average in all seven counties. Reauthorizes the 0.01 percent retail sales tax that funds the Scientific & Cultural Facilities District (SCFD), a program that has distributed more than $400 million to arts and science groups since 1988.

Grand Junction, Colo., Ballot Issue 5T: Passed with 89 percent of the vote. Extends the TIF (Tax Increment Financing) that was to expire in 2006. This could mean more money for streets, parks plazas, structures, and the potential relocation of the Western Colorado Center for the Arts.

Miami-Dade County, Fla., General Obligation Bond Question 8 Initiative: Passed with 66 percent of the vote. Issues bonds to construct and improve libraries, cultural facilities, and learning centers for preschool children.

Boone County, Ill., Tax Referendum for Arts/Museums: Passed with 57 percent of the vote. Allows power to levy a tax not to exceed .02 percent of the value of taxable property that will go to the County Historical District for arts and museums.

Baltimore City Question P Bond Issue: Passed with 74 percent of the vote. Authorizes the mayor and city council to borrow up to $500,000 for the Walters Art Museum.

Baltimore City Question Q Bond Issue: Passed with 76 percent of the vote. Authorizes the mayor and city council to borrow up to $500,000 for the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Kansas City, Mo., Initiative: Failed with approval from only one out of five counties (the measure needed support from three counties). Residents of five Missouri and Kansas counties were asked to approve a one-fourth of one cent retail sales tax that over 12 to 15 years would have raised $500 million to $600 million for arts- and sports-building projects.

Billings, Mont., Initiative: Failed with 38 percent of the vote. Would have boosted funding for museums and cultural organizations in Yellowstone County. This is the fourth time in the past eight years that cultural organizations have tried to increase property taxes to support museums and cultural programs.

Salt Lake County Initiative: Passed with 71 percent of the vote. Re-authorizes the Zoo, Arts & Parks program. This county sales tax (one-tenth of one percent) is dedicated to funding recreational facilities, the zoo, and cultural organizations and generates about $15 million per year.

Loudoun County, Va., Initiative: Passed with 58 percent of the vote. Issues general obligation bonds in the maximum amount of $15.4 million for the Franklin Park Performing Arts Center (approximately $1.4 million).

Susan Breitkopf is associate editor, Museum News. Managing Editor Amanda Kraus contributed to this report.