Museum’s future

In her otherwise excellent piece on efforts to preserve the Southwest Museum’s collection (“Working Out the Bugs,” Jan. 25), Suzanne Muchnic reported that the Friends of the Southwest Museum Coalition does not oppose the Autry National Center’s conservation efforts and implied that the group is concerned only with continuance of the Southwest as a “living museum.”

The story omitted key causes of concern for the coalition, a group of more than 55 organizations (local, state and national) representing hundreds of thousands of concerned people.

The coalition has sought and has yet to receive from the Autry a clearly articulated vision and commitment to the future of the Southwest Museum and Casa de Adobe, one that includes preservation of the facility as a “living museum,” and a display of at least a significant representation of the diverse holdings.

The museum is the embodiment of author, historian and ethnographer Charles Fletcher Lummis’ life’s work in shaping the American West. It represents the diversity and complexity of the histories of the Native American and Californio cultures, and the role of the Arroyo Seco and the city in creating the “American West.”

We ask that the Autry recognize that the nationally significant building is itself the largest piece of the Southwest Museum collection and for assurance that Los Angeles’ oldest museum will continue to be a showcase for the legacy of American West cultures as envisioned by Lummis.

Eliot Sekuler

Mount Washington

Eliot Sekuler is a spokesman for Friends of the Southwest Museum Coalition.

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The Southwest Museum may seem outdated, but to those who understand our role in history it is a tangible symbol of the idealism that made us the last outpost of Western expansion, which -- as the most diverse city in the world -- should always be part of Los Angeles’ understanding of itself.

Nancy Blaine

Los Feliz

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Maybe the historic and architecturally significant Southwest Museum isn’t the best place for storage of artifacts by today’s conservation standards, but that’s no reason to denigrate it as “hopelessly antiquated.” Many museums, such as the Smithsonian, have off-site storage in buildings with appropriate environmental controls but continue to attract the public by creating a museum experience at their historic buildings.

It’s the combination of experiencing a museum exhibition in an authentic (historic) location that attracts visitors to the world’s great museums. Los Angeles deserves the same -- our best hope is with the city’s original museum. It’s a no-brainer!

John Nese

Los Angeles