The questions about progress with the U.S. Marshals Museum are many and welcome.

guest commentary by Sandi Sanders

Editor’s note: Sandi Sanders is the project director for the U.S. Marshals Museum to be built in Fort Smith. The cost of the museum is estimated between $30 million and $40 million. The museum has received $100,000 each from the city of Fort Smith and Sebastian County, $200,000 from the state Legislature and $2 million from Gov. Mike Beebe.

“What will it look like?”
“What kind of exhibits will you have?”
“Who is designing the building?”
“When will it open?”
These are among the questions we field daily at the U.S. Marshals Museum offices. The City Wire offers us the opportunity to answer these very valid questions and to also share with you the many questions/issues/decisions that had to be addressed first before we even got to this stage.

The essence of any museum is found in the exhibits and in the stories told by those exhibits. Christopher Chadbourne & Associates of Boston have worked with the board’s exhibit design committee to create exhibit concepts. Christopher Chadbourne & Associates is an award winning firm, and the work they have completed for the Marshals Museum thus far certainly reflects top-level talent.

Work is underway on sketches of the exhibits. The Museum will feature seven major areas with three of those being large galleries. Each gallery will reflect different themes, and each one will use exhibits, videos, information, artifacts, audiovisuals, and interactives to present these themes: 

• America Divided focusing on American social crises such as the Whiskey Rebellion, Civil Rights Era, and Labor Strikes and the role the U.S. Marshals played in each area as they enforced the Constitution and Federal Law

• Frontier Marshals including new frontiers as the U.S. began its growth in 1789, The Wild West, Alaska Territory, and Frontiers for 2010 and beyond

• Marshals Today which will focus on the major responsibilities of today’s Service. Those areas of responsibility are Witness Protection, Judicial Security, Fugitive Apprehension, Transport and Security of Federal Prisoners, and Asset Forfeiture. 

The first week of January 2009, the board’s architectural design and construction committee will interview five architectural teams before selecting the one to design the Museum. Our specifications require at least one firm on each team to have extensive museum design experience. Additionally, at least one firm on the team must have a presence in our area. Once selected, the architects will begin developing the design of the building, and we will soon have the answer to the question, “What will it look like?”

In January 2007 the U.S. Marshals Service announced that Fort Smith had been selected as the designated site for the Museum. Since that time amazing milestones and accomplishments have been achieved, primarily as a result of collaborative partnerships and strong leadership on the part of the Board of Directors.

A big thank you goes to the board members who’ve led us through organizational planning, site selection, vision and goal development, initial fundraising for seed money, selection of staff, the search and selection of the best museum exhibit designers in the nation, exhibit design, educational programming, advertising and review of top architectural firms, and planning for the national campaign. Leaders serving on the board of directors are: Doug Babb, Mike Blevins, Bob Davidson, Ann Patton Dawson, Lance Heflin, Brad Jesson, Charles Ledbetter, Claude Legris, Pat Lile, Emon Mahony, Jr., Michael Pearson, Lorna Pryor, Sam Sicard, Missy Armstrong Roebuck, Jim Spears, Dr. Ray Wallace, Jim Williamson, David Turk, Bennie Westphal and Jeff Woodfin.

Each month brings challenging new tasks and new decisions. There is so much more to share so a second The City Wire commentary in January will present the entire overview of the exhibit plans.

We want you to join us in the fun and excitement of building something of this magnitude from the very beginning. And, keep your questions coming.