USGA Museum And Archives Arnold Palmer Center For Golf History Fact Sheet


November 17, 2005

Project Summary

Since 1972, the United States Golf Association (USGA) Museum and Archives has been located in Far Hills, New Jersey, housed in an early 20^th-century residence designed by John Russell Pope . 

In February 2005, the USGA Executive Committee approved a plan to renovate the existing structure and construct an addition of approximately 20,000 square feet to house public galleries, collections storage areas, and staff offices. 

Founded in 1936, the USGA Museum and Archives is the oldest museum in the country dedicated to sports.

Primary Objectives

The primary objectives of the project are as follows:

· Provide a proper facility for the long-term care and preservation of the USGA's comprehensive historical collections.

· Showcase the important museum and archival collections of the USGA to communicate the story of the Association and its championships.

· Provide proper research facilities to encourage public access to the collections.

· Preserve and restore the architecturally significant John Russell Pope structure, including accommodations for ADA compliance.

· Position the USGA Museum and Archives as the premier repository and research center for the game of golf.

Consultants

The USGA has retained the services of the following consultants:

· Gallagher and Associates, Bethesda, Md. - exhibition designer

· Farewell Mills Gatsch, Princeton, N.J. - architect

· Zubatkin Owner Representation, New York, N.Y. - owner's representative

· Turner Construction, Somerset, N.J.

· John Hilberry Museum Consulting, New York, N.Y. - museum programmer

Building Program for Palmer Center and Golf House

The Palmer Center, approximately 20,000 square feet of new construction, will include:

· Rotunda with skylight and clerestory to showcase the 13 original USGA National Championship trophies

· Gallery Space - approximately 5,000 square feet of exhibits telling the history of USGA Championships and Champions from 1895 to the present

· Research Room - 1,000 square feet

· Collections Storage Rooms - 5,000 square feet

· Offices for curatorial staff

· General storage, mechanical and electrical equipment, and other required support spaces

Golf House (approximately 18,000 square feet of existing space) will continue to serve as the reception area for visitors.  It will house public galleries on the first floor, including the Bob Jones Room, the Ben Hogan Room, and a new room dedicated to Arnold Palmer.  Additional museum offices will be located on the second floor.

About Golf House

Golf House was designed by noted American architect John Russell Pope .  Pope completed numerous private residences in the New York metropolitan area in the early decades of the 20^th century, of which Golf House is an excellent example.  Other important buildings by Pope include:

· National Archives Building, Washington D.C.

· National Gallery of Art (West Building), Washington D.C.

· Thomas Jefferson Memorial, Washington D.C.

· Scottish Rite Temple, Washington, D.C.

· Constitution Hall of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Washington, D.C.

Golf House was designed and completed in 1919 for Thomas Frothingham , a New York City financier.  It was later sold to John Sloan , a prominent furniture retailer.  The USGA purchased the property in 1972, relocating its offices from New York City.  Golf House originally housed all administrative offices for the USGA, as well as the Museum.  With the completion of the new Administration Building in the mid-1980s, Golf House was renovated to serve as galleries, offices, and collections storage areas for the Museum and Archives.

USGA Museum and Archives Collections

· Approximately 42,000 artifacts in the Museum Collection

· More than 20,000 volumes in the Library

· More than half a million photographic images in the Photographic Archive

· Several thousand hours of historic film and video in the Film and Video Archive

Proposed Schedule

· USGA Museum and Archives closed March 31, 2005 for renovation

· Design period commenced in February 2005 and will continue until fall of 2006

· Construction to begin in 2006

· Anticipated opening in 2008