Three years after opening its doors on Michigan Avenue, the McCormick Foundation’s Freedom Museum announced Friday that it will vacate its current location on March 1, with plans to instead operate a “mobile museum” that would travel to schools and communities throughout the Chicago area.
Crain's reports that the foundation initiated the change, evoking an early-termination clause in its lease. The new plan hopes to reach more students and area residents, says McCormick Foundation President and CEO David Grange. He said Tribune Co.’s plans to possibly convert or sell the tower were also a factor.
“A lot of museums are not doing so well at getting people to come to them, so I told my people to think outside the walls and to focus on outreach and efforts to touch more people,” Grange said. “We were meeting the objectives we set, but I wanted to do better.”
The mobile museum should be up and running by the fall.
"I think we’re going to have more success," Grange said.
