On Jan. 17, 1912, a line of eager people, standing in drizzling rain, stretched from the Toledo Museum of Art’s main building to Monroe Street. This Jan. 17, TMA will celebrate that date, marking the centennial of the main building’s grand opening.

The celebration will begin at 1 p.m. at 2445 Monroe St. and feature a replica cake, refreshments and presentations.

“We’ve invited all of our staff, docents, volunteers and all of our members,” said Teri Sharp, public relations manager of TMA. “Just as the museum is open to everyone so is our celebration.”

The Toledo Museum of Art, 1912

The program will include a reading from a book written by Nina Stevens, the wife of the museum’s director in 1912, the presentation of a portrait of Edward Drummond Libbey, founder of TMA, a review of the footprint of the original building compared to today’s building and a talk on the museum’s next 100 years.

TMA was originally founded in 1901 in two rented rooms of the Gardner Building. In 1912, TMA moved to its current location designed by Edward B. Green of Buffalo and Harry W. Wachter of Toledo.

At the main building’s grand opening, then Mayor Brand Whitlock presented Libbey with a gold key to the city and three volumes worth of testimonials from museum-goers, Sharp said.

“This eventful day is a glorious justification of the plans and hopes of those who have clearly seen the necessity for such an institution in this community,” Libbey reportedly said. For the past two weeks, museum lovers have been invited to share similar testimonials and memories in the Herrick Lobby, on Twitter and Facebook.

Since 1912, TMA has gone through several changes including the addition of the Peristyle Theater in 1933 and the opening of the Glass Pavilion in 2006. Although a recent highlight in the museum’s history, The Egypt Experience, ended Jan. 8, the museum still has plenty going on in 2012, Sharp said.

“We have a lot of different activities going on right now,” she emphasized. One of those activities is the reinstallation of the Classic Court, which features antiquities and will include items from The Egypt Experience. It is set to debut in spring. Other highlights include the only U.S. showing of the exhibit “Manet: Portraying Life” with work from the impressionist Edouard Manet, starting Oct. 5. Girl Scouts in the Toledo area will also celebrate their own 100-year anniversary with a May sleepover at TMA.

Also on Jan. 17, the 100th visitor will receive a prize package with a $100 Toledo Museum of Art gift card, a one-year family membership valued at $75, two tickets to the Toledo Symphony Orchestra performance of Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” in the Peristyle on either Feb. 3 or Feb. 4 and four tickets to an Art Hour session of the recipient’s choice.

Admission to TMA is free and parking will be free Jan. 17. At all other times, it is $5 for nonmembers and free for members. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and noon-6 p.m. Sundays. Visit www.toledomuseum.org to learn more.

Tags: Toledo Museum of Art

This entry was posted on Friday, January 13th, 2012 at 9:20 am and is filed under Arts and Life, Toledo Museum of Art.
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