As someone who loves Fresno, I find it hard to write about the shortcomings of our great city. There are a few occasions however, where I cannot help myself. One of those times would be the moment I pass the building above, the one that should house a recently renovated Fresno Metropolitan Museum. It’s at that time I become, what I call, momentarily disenchanted.
You see, I remember sitting with the staff of both the Fresno Art Museum and the Fresno Metropolitan Museum when the Met had just begun planing their renovation. It was nearly eight years ago, during a collaborative exhibition involving three local museums, FAM, Fresno Met, and Arte Américas. Our community was thriving at the time, and as such, the art community was experiencing better times.
After months and eventually, years, of effort involved in completing the ambitious renovation – one plagued with delays and setbacks that often accompany the transformation of a historic building, a shiny new museum emerged. I'd love to see how it all turned out, but there it sits, a vacant shell in downtown Fresno. I won’t go into the politics surrounding the demise of the Met. Many people have their own opinion about what went wrong, but the fact remains, it is the Central Valley’s loss.
I can only say, each time I pass this building, I shake my head in mild frustration. Very soon, I imagine a new name will cover this building and we can all get back to forgetting the fact that Fresno was once home to a thriving Metropolitan Museum.
