In April 2001, Mix reported in these pages on the expected opening of a museum dedicated solely to sound recordings in Camden, N.J. According to Bernard Fox, the project’s director, funds that were to be appropriated from the city have not surfaced, though he expects that the city will sooner or later be able to come up with the money. Instead, Yonkers, N.Y., will now most likely be the first location in the U.S. to break ground, though Fox revealed that a grass roots campaign has sprung up in Queens, N.Y., as well.
According to Dan Gaydos, president of the Museum of Sound Recording, the museum will open its doors in the Boyce Thompson Institute site in Northwestern Yonkers. According to the museum’s blueprints, the building will display the history of sound in 48 acoustically designed spaces, as well as offer international cuisine in the greenhouses adjacent to the museum. The expected 160,000 patrons each year can learn about all aspects of sound dating back to 1870 up to a 2010 futuristic outlook via interactive, user-defined kiosks and onsite educators. The patron can follow the “learning” pathway chronologically or by styles of recording machines, recorders, studios, mics, end-user equipment, etc.; users can also view eight completely setup studios that range from a 1910 acoustic recording studio, a mastering studio, a film mixing and editing studio, and even Armstrong’s original FM broadcast studio.
The museum currently has received over $2.7 million in donated equipment, with more expected. For sponsorship information, visit the user group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mosr. Check out the museum’s progress at www.lovesphere.org/mosr.
Send your “Current” news to Sarah Benzuly at [email protected].
