Museum in Elgin fights finances by staying open more

The Elgin Area Historical Society's museum, like other nonprofits, government agencies and everyday people, has had financial difficulty.

But even though the museum's pocketbook is tight, officials there aren't turning off the lights and shutting the doors.

They've decided to battle the recession by doing the opposite: staying open more.

The museum housed in the Old Main building at 360 Park St. will now be open year round, after previously being closed over some of the winter months. Normal hours are noon to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

Traditionally, museum volunteers wouldn't come in during the winter because they were out of town at other homes. But paid staff members who are at the museum year-round decided to keep the building open for patrons in January and February since they are there anyway, according to Liz Marston, the museum's director.

“We're here, we're open, we're part of community, and we want people to come in,” Marston said.

Keeping the doors open an extra two months won't have a financial impact on the historical society, she said. The paid staff includes Marston and two other part-time employees, who would be getting paid even if the museum was closed in the winter.

The society relies heavily on private donations, membership dues and grants. In the past year, the society benefited from gifts bequeathed from former members, Marston said.

The city pays for and maintains the 156-year-old building, which was part of the old Elgin Academy and is on the National Register of Historic Places. But the society does not receive any money for operating expenses from the city, Marston said.

“Our board didn't want that deal (at the time),” Marston said. “But since then we do want it, and we can't get it. At this point the city is tapped out.”

The Elgin Public Museum — at Lords Park — does receive funding from the city for operations, but the amount it gets has dropped dramatically due to a decline in casino fund revenues. The Elgin Fire Barn No. 5 museum, like the historical society museum, doesn't receive funding beyond the city paying for the building.