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Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Spy Museum Seeks New Home

FILE PHOTO: SARI FRANKEL The International Spy Museum, located at 800 F St., continues its search for a new location after its bid for Carnegie Libary was declined.
FILE PHOTO: SARI FRANKEL
The International Spy Museum, located at 800 F St., continues its search for a new location after its bid for Carnegie Libary was declined.

The International Spy Museum abandoned a planned relocation to the Carnegie Library in Mount Vernon Square after the Washington, D.C. Historic Preservation Review Board declined to approve renovations on the historic building Oct. 7.

The museum dedicated to the history of espionage is looking to move out of its current location on F Street NW in Gallery Place in order to accommodate larger exhibits and other expansions. The lease at the Spy Museum’s current location expires in September 2017.

“We thought the historic Carnegie Library would be a great space, and complementary to our already existing programming,” EventsDC Vice President of Communications and Marketing Chinyere Hubbard said.

Convention center authority EventsDC joined the museum in proposing the move last September, seeking to renovate the Historical Society’s galleries and offices and to add 58,000 square feet of space to the library, as well as a new visitor center.

“We were both focused on activating and revitalizing the library, and also the Mt. Vernon Square itself,” Hubbard said. “We were both committed financially and programmatically to do so.”

EventsDC looked to create a deal with the Historical Society of Washington that would enable the museum to have a permanent home at the library and also allow the convention center authority to use the site for other events. However, the lack of significant renovation of the Carnegie Library since its opening in 1903, combined with its historical significance, posed obstacles to the proposal

“The Historic Preservation Review Board understood the problems of trying to animate the building and the square,” Deputy Preservation Officer Steve Callcot said. “It needed to be done in a way that retained the park-like feel of the square, and didn’t adversely affect the building itself.”

The museum’s main exhibits were to be housed underground, with large pavilions built to accommodate other events and displays.

Despite numerous meetings with the museum to agree upon a solution, the Historic Preservation Review Board did not approve these proposed constructions as a result of opposition from the community around the library, who felt the expansion would be an unnecessary infringement on the space, forcing the museum to abandon its plans to relocate to the site.

“[The community thought that] it would be an infringement on that historic site and that it would impede site lines throughout the city,” International Spy Museum Public Relations Manager Jason Werden said. “The board was certainly in a tough spot trying to help us meet our needs, while also trying to serve the needs of the community. … We reached a point in the process where we couldn’t move it forward any more without sacrificing the content we needed.”

The International Spy Museum has attempted to relocate for over two years due to problems related to space. At 20,000 square feet, the museum’s lack of adequate space has limited the amount of material that can be on display, as temporary exhibits often demands that the museum sacrifice or rearrange permanent collections.

“We knew that in order for the success of the museum moving forward, we needed more space for our exhibitions and temporary exhibits,” Werden said. “We’ve really reached the brim of square footage.”

Despite these setbacks, EventsDC and the museum will continue their partnership going forward.

“We remain committed to working with Spy, to help them find a permanent home for the museum within the city,” Hubbard said. “What we don’t want is for the city to lose this highly important and influential spy museum as a result of this unfortunate development.”

The museum does not have any immediate plans for moving into another location, but is committed to planning the future layout of any possible new home.

“We will continue our plans of redeveloping our content,” Werden said. “Our curators, historians and exhibition staff are continually in the process of mapping out what the museum will look like when we eventually move.”

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