The Museum Center structure:

A multi-use building
housing collections, educational facilities and space for
special exhibitions and events.

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ABOVE: A rendering of the lobby, facing west from the gift shop.
BELOW: Lobby facing east from exhibit area and Cultural Center.
Colors and finishes are for illustration only.
Both drawings, plus rendering on index page, courtesy
Fru-Con, Baldwin, MO.

On September 11, 1999, the Museum Center opened a 17,000-square-foot facility that combines functionality and style. (Click here for photos of the 1998 groundbreaking.) Entering from the Inman Street side (A), local citizens and visitors receive direction from volunteers situated at the information desk. School groups proceed immediately to the Education Center (B) for orientation, hands-on activities before and after touring the exhibits or other special programs. Adult programming also occurs in the Education Center at scheduled times. It is truly a space for children of all ages.

The lobby also begins the introduction of visitors to the exhibits and recognizes contributors to the capital campaign. Representations depicting the seven living history characters, created to bring life to the story of this region, lead to the exhibit hall and archives areas. The "River of Time" art piece in the lobby floor (C), designed by local artist Larry Epperson, recognizes donors of $1,000 or more to the capital campaign. Each stone in the "River of Time" carries the name of  a business, individual or family that contributed $1,000 or more. On the right, the archives area (D) houses precious documents, artifacts not on display and research material, and provides office space for a future curator for the museum.

Farther along, the main Exhibit Hall  (E) is where the history of the Ocoee District truly comes to life. Professionally designed exhibits depicting the history of the land and the many people who have inhabited it from prehistoric times to the present are incorporated into this space. Exhibits are both passive and interactive, providing education and entertainment. The restroom facilities (F) are also easily accessible to both the Exhibit Hall and Cultural Center.

The Cultural Center space (G) was created in direct response to what we learned by listening to the community. Many local citizens and businesses expressed the need for meeting space, performance areas, and dining facilities for functions both private and public. The nearly 4,000-square-foot Cultural Center already has planned programming by the Museum. For example, the space nearest the Exhibit Hall will be utilized for temporary locally produced exhibits and traveling exhibits brought to Cleveland from other museums across the country. The Cultural Center also is the home of the Ocoee Players community theater group and provides space and support for their productions. The Cultural Center along with other areas of the Museum also are available for business, civic, and private functions. The Cultural Center can also be divisible into thirds with high-quality, floor-to-ceiling acoustical panels for multi-use programming. A catering kitchen and storage areas are also adjacent to this area to provide food service when desired.

Just off the Cultural Center is the courtyard (H), which will be professionally landscaped and designed to facilitate outdoor programming, weddings, receptions and other functions. The courtyard can also be tented to expand the covered area available for these events. A conference room (I) just off the courtyard and lobby is also be available to the community. Staff offices and work areas (J) frame the other side of the courtyard. Last but not least is the Museum Shop (K), which is convenient to customers as they leave or enter the Museum Center. It offers high-quality but moderately priced merchandise. There is a little bit of something for everyone -- tourists, local citizens shopping for holiday or birthday gifts, and educational and entertaining things for children.