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Indian museum closes amid controversy,
artifacts to be transferred to Autry
By PETER PRENGAMAN, Associated Press Writer
Thursday, June 29, 2006

(06-29) 17:20 PDT Los Angeles (AP) --
The Southwest Museum of the American Indian, housing one of the country's premier collections of American Indian artifacts, will close Sunday amid accusations from community groups that the shuttering is a veiled power play by the Autry National Center.
Over the next three years, the 240,000 objects in the collection will be cleaned and catalogued in preparation to move to a new building next to Autry's Museum of the American West. The new structure is pending city approval.
Community groups argue the collection should stay in its current landmark white adobe building in downtown. "This is a breach of the promises that Autry made to this community," said Nicole Possert, co-chairwoman of the Friends of the Southwest Museum coalition. "The historic structure was built to be a museum."
Autry officials counter that keeping the collection where it's housed isn't economically viable. They also argue the viewing will be enhanced in a much larger building capable of showcasing many artifacts currently in storage.
"It's one of the most extraordinary collections and it's been hidden away," said John Gray, the president and chief executive of the Autry National Center. "There isn't space, and there has never been public support to have a good exhibition program."
The roots of the dispute go back to 2003, when the Southwest museum merged with Autry, a move billed as a way to enhance both museums, but also to keep the struggling Southwest museum from closing.
Despite an extensive collection of Indian artifacts, including 13,500 Indian baskets as well as thousands of pre-Hispanic and Mexican objects, the museum has suffered from a small endowment and declining membership and visitors.
By contrast, the Autry museum, opened in 1988 by the family of the late Gene Autry, was backed by a large fortune but had a collection made up of movie memorabilia and Western paintings.
City officials tried to give the Southwest museum a boost a few years ago, building a light-rail stop at the museum to alleviate parking difficulties.
Still, all parties agree that the status quo can't be the museum's future. Insect infestations have threatened some artifacts, heavy rains last year caused water to pour into some of the museum's cramped storage space, damaging some displays.
Southwest's tower was severely damaged from the 1994 Northridge earthquake and has never been repaired.
Gray estimated such renovations would cost $35 million to $40 million, which wouldn't include a marketing program to get more people to visit. He said there is no money or political will to make that happen.
Instead, the Autry plans to spend $6 million to $10 million to renovate parts of the building. Meanwhile, its gift shop and a lobby display about the project will be open on weekends and tours of the conservation work will be available to museum members.
Those plans haven't eased worries about the building's future. "I don't want us to lose a cultural landmark that has had a tremendous impact on our community in terms of education and culture," said Ed Reyes, a Los Angeles city councilman whose district contains part of the Southwest Museum's grounds. "I was always under the impression that they were not going to close it down."
The city has organized a series of public hearings on the museum's future. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said during his election campaign last year that he wanted the Southwest to stay put, but more recently he hasn't taken a position.