Philadelphia Museum Revamps As Events Venue
These days museums are struggling harder than ever to make ends meet and one way to host weddings and other events. The Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia takes this to a new level. The museum had a $100,000 makeover and has a designated website, Events at ISM, that includes information on the variety of spaces available including not just the galleries but a theater that seats 63, a 530-seat auditorium and outdoor space that includes a 3,000-square-foot amphitheater patio. The museum has partnerships with a variety of vendors for offering related services.In profiling the changes, the Philadelphia Inquirer quotes museum president Lori Dillard Rech who said she wants the museum to "become the top-rated and top-used, unique rental space in the city." The Seaport Museum courted meeting planners, wedding consultants and other party professionals at a gala to show off the renovated spaces.
The museum's move to brand itself as an events venue may also be a way to distance itself from past scandal. A couple of years ago former the former museum president, John S. Carter, pleaded guilty to charges of fraud and tax evasion, accused of appropriating more than $1 million in funds from the museum and is currently serving a 15-year prison term.
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