Local Group Plans to Pull Exhibit From Museum Amidst Worries Over Collection

A community group that three years ago lent materials to the has decided to remove the display, prompted by concern that the items would be auctioned off or improperly stored.

Cruisin' the Boulevard, a local organization that puts on an annual classic car show every May and that donated memorabilia items from American Graffiti, the George Lucas movie filmed in Petaluma, has decided to pull its display from the museum’s permanent collection, according to John Furrer, president of Cruisin' the Boulevard.

“Our board has decided to not take any chances of losing the items until the museum has determined exactly how they will handle their collection,” Furrer said. “The items are not ours, they belong to the community and if something were to get lost, we’d be responsible to the people who lent it to us.”

The display case holds autographed posters, photos and other American Graffiti memorabilia and was recently moved to the back of the museum, where it’s not really visible, said Furrer.

The downtown museum had been planning to hold an auction in early December, selling off donated items that were not deemed historically significant or were replicas of what they already had as a way to raise revenue. The museum has lost $38,000 over the past two years.

But after an that revealed the plan and the public outcry that followed, namely due to concern over how the historical significance of items would be determined, the museum scrapped the idea, saying it would pursue other ways of fundraising.

Still, the decision by Cruisin' the Boulevard underscores a crisis of confidence some in the community have about the museum’s general direction. The museum has pursued more costly exhibits over the past several years in an attempt to attract new visitors. 

But that decision has been criticized as "financial irresponsible" and straying from the museum's mission, which is “to preserve the history of Petaluma and the surrounding area and to provide educational and cultural services to the community which stimulate interest in the history of Petaluma.”

“We’re not comfortable with what’s going on now,” Furrer said, adding that he understood the museum’s budget constraints. Still, he’s worried museum staff are not doing enough to highlight a piece of local history, which movie buffs actively seek out.

“With the pirates exhibit, you have to go behind temporary walls to see it. Even during our big car show in May, the exhibit was not really prominently featured. People come in from all over the world for the (classic car) show and the museum doesn’t do anything to feature the display.”

Liz Cohee, a board member and the only paid staffer of the museum, declined to be interviewed, deferring to museum president Joe Noriel. Noriel did not return repeated emails and phone calls for comment.

But Noriel and many board members have countered that the museum had become irrelevant over the years and needed to be revived through innovative and though-provoking exhibits that expanded residents’ worldviews.

What's your take on the museum situation? Should the museum focus on preserving Petaluma history only or find a way to integrate exhibits not local in nature?