PALO ALTO HELPED INVENT THE MODERN WORLD
PALO ALTO’S IMPACT IS HISTORIC AND GLOBAL.
HELP US BUILD a museum to share it.
Our Honorary Chairs are Leading the Way
Ready to Build and We Need Your Help
Message from the President. Big News!
Dec 12, 2022
I have great news to share. The Museum now has a 40-year lease with the City of Palo Alto for the Roth Building. City Council approved the lease at the December 12th public meeting. This is big news because the Museum has been working toward this goal for many years, especially for the past 13 months in active negotiations with City representatives. We are very pleased with the results. Warm thanks go to the generous support we are receiving from the amazing pro bono attorneys at Wilson Sonsini.
Next steps are to finish several housekeeping items required by the lease, move a lot of money into our bank accounts then start construction with Vance Brown Builders. You might see construction as early as March. This phase of construction is fully funded, thanks in part to generous support from our extraordinary donors, the City of Palo Alto, County of Santa Clara and a $3M federal grant championed by Congresswoman Anna Eshoo. We deeply appreciate the Palo Alto City Council and Staff for allocating funds to rehabilitate the Roth Building.
The rehabilitation will take about 12 months. Within 12 months after substantial completion of construction we will have doors open to the Palo Alto Museum. The federal grant will partly fund Roth rehabilitation and about $2M will go toward build-out of the Museum, including initial galleries and exhibits.
All signs point to a transformational year ahead:
- Construction will start to revive the historic Roth Building.
- Museum professionals will join our staff to create an outstanding museum within the rehabilitated walls.
- A fundraising campaign will be launched to supplement funds already raised for the development and installation of the museum.
You’ll soon be hearing about the Museum’s Annual Appeal. Our urgent need is to raise funds for operations, which are not fully funded. Please spread the word to those who might be in a position to help us get through this challenging and exciting period.
As always, the Museum Board, staff, volunteers and friends applaud you for your persistence and undying support for this worthy project. Thank you and have a great holiday!
With gratitude,
Rich Green
President, Palo Alto Museum Board of Directors
www.paloaltomuseum.org
The historic Roth Building in downtown Palo Alto is the ideal location to build this community’s Museum, and we continue to work in partnership with the City to advance its rehabilitation. With approved plans and an active building permit in place, ours is the fastest and most cost-effective way to bring a history museum to our community.
David M. Kennedy giving public comment at the City Finance Committee meeting on behalf of the Museum
In Support of the Palo Alto Museum
“Palo Alto is the ‘stem cell’ of Silicon Valley, which has been home base for the most important evolution in the history of mankind: the technology industry. The Palo Alto stories of innovation and entrepreneurship that have led to valuable advances for the benefit of humanity are inspirational. The time to develop a world class museum for Palo Alto is now.”
William Hewlett and David Packard
Hewlett-Packard Founders
Steve Wozniak and Andy Hertzfeld
Apple Pioneers
Endorsing Organizations
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