Textile museum faces drastic changes
LOWELL -- After years of losing money, the American Textile History Museum may have to sell its 160,000-square-foot home, move out of the city famous for the industrial machinery displayed within its brick walls, or close its doors entirely.
ATHM president Michael J. Smith said the nonprofit museum, founded in 1960 to document the region's rich history of textile manufacturing, is in a financial crisis driven by its endowment's plummeting from $7 million in 1999 to its current $2.8 million. Smith blames the loss on the stock market decline and the museum's need to withdraw increasing amounts to make up for annual operating deficits.
The ATHM, which draws about 50,000 visitors a year, has an annual budget of $2.2 million. It is on track to lose about $600,000 this year, said Smith.
''It's a very tight rope we're on," Smith said. ''We have to come up with a solution very quickly or we will not be in business in a few years."
The museum's board will discuss its options at a meeting scheduled for May 20. If the American Textile History Museum does sell its building, the money will be used to boost its endowment, Smith said. He doesn't know how much the building, located on Dutton Street, could sell for. The city has it assessed at $1.9 million.
The museum is considered the largest of its kind, with floors of fully functioning looms that staffers run to produce the line of shawls, blankets, and rugs sold in its gift shop. The museum's Textile Conservation Center cleans and restores delicate materials in the collection and from such institutions as the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Caroline Stevens Rogers, whose family worked in the textile industry, founded what was first known as the Merrimack Valley Textile Museum in North Andover in 1960. In 1992, the museum purchased a former manufacturing building in Lowell and raised about $8 million to renovate it. The renamed American Textile History Museum opened in 1997, occupying much of the five-story building and serving as one of the prime symbols of Lowell's effort to revive its decaying downtown.
But Smith said the museum didn't raise enough money to pay for much more than the renovation. Typically, museums try to raise more than construction costs so they can support the larger staffs and programs that come with an expansion. The ATHM has run a deficit of between $600,000 and $750,000 a year since its 1997 opening, making up the losses through donations and by increasing the percentage of money it draws off its endowment. Smith said the museum has no choice but to take drastic measures.
Lowell mayor Armand Mercier considers the museum a cornerstone of the city's cultural community, which also includes the National Historic Park, Lowell Folk Festival, and Paul E. Tsongas Arena.
''We're going to put our heads together because we really believe that museum is such an asset to the city," said Mercier. ''But there is just a certain amount of money that can be derived from the city coffers."
Smith said that an ideal arrangement would allow the museum to sign a long-term lease with any prospective developer. Space now used for storage, particularly on the building's top floors, could be converted into condominiums. The museum could remain in what is now lobby space.
''We don't like giving up the building we own," said Smith. ''But we're at the point where we have to do something."
Geoff Edgers can be reached at gedgers@globe.com.
