National Civil Rights Museum Renovations Underway

National Civil Rights Museum Announces Howard + Revis Design Firm

To Lead Major Renovation of the

Lorraine Motel Museum Exhibition and Galleries

(Memphis, TN) After a year long national search and review of 12 world wide exhibition design firms, the National Civil Rights Museum has selected the Washington, D.C. based firm of Howard + Revis (Ree-vis) to lead the first major renovation of the historic Lorraine Motel exhibition galleries that chronicle America’s Civil Rights history from 1619 to 1968.

The Museum opened in 1991 and utilizes the motel facility as gallery and exhibition space that has never been renovated since its opening. Museum President Beverly Robertson said the renovation will address several facility and customer needs as well as educational informational revisions and updates.

“On the average, a museum goes through a renovation process every ten years and so we are already behind the timeline for a much needed revision of our space and our exhibits. We need more seating in the public galleries, the auditorium and some of the historical elements need to encompass this vast technology that so many young people are drawn to. A lot has changed since 1991 and we have over 200,000 people a year who visit and most times, they are shoulder to shoulder in a standing room only kind of environment. I know this renovation will be greatly appreciated for those large tour groups and our visitors who deserve the ultimate tour experience.”

Some of the design concepts by Howard + Revis that impressed the selection committee included a larger two story lobby, expanded seating in the auditorium and expanding on the historical civil and human rights events as permanent exhibits.

The renovation process is expected to take up to 4 years before final completion with the timeline starting in 2010 with an anticipated cost of $10-15 million dollars.

Howard + Revis projects include the U.S. pavilions at the Knoxville and New Orleans World Fairs, several high-design restaurants, large format film theaters, the Amazonia immersion exhibit at the National Zoo, and even the Vietnam Veterans and Korean War Veterans Memorials, the Smithsonian Institution on the redesign of the National Museum of American History's public spaces, temporary exhibitions at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Our Universes exhibition at the National Museum of American History and as a consultant for the National September 11 Memorial Museum.

Local Memphis participation in the National Civil Rights Museum renovation will utilize the firm of Self Tucker Architects and JPA Landscape Architects.

For More Information Contact:

Gwen Harmon

(901) 521-9699 ext. 241

(901) 331-6374 cell