Museum of Redlands Enters Final Transfer Phase; Gift Shop Opens This Month

The Redlands Historical Museum Association, known as MOR Friends, will begin operating its gift shop this week, and soon will be tasked with leasing space for special events this month as the city enters the final stages of its management agreement with the Redlands Historical Museum Association.

Photos by David James Heiss

The Museum of Redlands Friends will have a variety of merchandise to sell as part of its fundraising efforts.

The Redlands City Council appointed council members Paul Barich and Denise Davis to an ad hoc subcommittee during its Jan. 20 meeting. The group will finalize a license agreement covering the association’s use of office space, operation of the museum store and event pavilion, and coordination of volunteers and fundraising.

The agreement follows a real estate transfer approved last June, in which the association gifted the museum property at 1 N. Center St. to the city at no cost. The building previously served as the headquarters for the Redlands Daily Facts.

“The Museum Association’s board of directors is very excited that this important next step in giving the museum to the city is underway,” Char Burgess, president of MOR Friends, said in a statement.

Merchandise at the Museum of Redlands.

Under the new structure, the museum will join the Lincoln Memorial Shrine in being administered by the A.K. Smiley Public Library through the Division of Special Collections.

Burgess noted the project has been decades in the making. “What was only a dream 25 years ago is now a $30 million reality with the galleries now being filled with the special items that have been in storage — some for more than 100 years,” she said.

Councilman Barich emphasized the need for a timely opening, noting that the public is "getting a little impatient."

“Our first goal is to get the museum open,” Barich said. “I hope our license agreement will make it run efficiently, and I have no doubt that the library will, and taxpayers will get a lot of value out of this.”

The subcommittee will dissolve once the council finalizes the agreement, which is intended to define the roles of the city and the association while protecting the city as the property owner.

The Jack and Laura Dangermond Events Pavilion can be opened up to the adjoining outdoor courtyard to accommodate larger special programs or catered events.

The museum is expected to open fully later this year once all exhibits are installed. Burgess described the facility as the "newest jewel" in the community.

The transfer marks the final steps in the MOR Friends retaining management of the Feldkamp Family Museum Store and the Laura and Jack Dangermond Events Pavilion and Courtyard.

MOR Friends will operate their gift shop at 1 N. Center St. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.