Since I last checked in with you all, CAC has had a very special anniversary. Here is Lynn Osmond on that subject:
We observed our one-year anniversary on August 31. What a year it has been! Everybody has worked incredibly hard to get us here. I want to do a special shout out to the staff of the CAC who put so much energy into opening the Center and then couldn’t take a rest, because we had to make it run smoothly and ensure the visitors came. They have done an amazing job! As I like to say – when we opened “we didn’t know what we didn’t know”. Now at least “we know what we don’t know”. It has been quite a journey, and I thank all for your participation and support!
I am pleased to say that we recently held our last closeout construction meeting. We are almost finished with the punchlist!
Stats for last year include:
Over the last year we have had 81,121 guests since we opened our doors a year ago. The breakdown is as follows . . .
- Full Admission: 24,289
- Student Admission: 10,239
- Members: 14,870
- River Cruise Guests attending CAC: 19,445
- Walking and Bus Tour Guests attending CAC: 6,973
- Group Tour Guests: 2,652
- Children and Comps: 2,653
We also have some really fun news: The CAC received a gift of $5,800 from James and Melissa Holzhauer to support the Girls Build program. Name sound familiar? James Holzhauer is the Naperville native who recently appeared on Jeopardy for 33 consecutive games, becoming the 3rd highest overall winner. His wife Melissa and their 5-year-old daughter were in the CAC gift shop when a retail associate engaged them in conversation about the Girls Build program. Melissa was so excited to learn about the program she was inspired to make a donation. Although they live in Las Vegas, the Holzhauer family are big CAC fans and plan to make arrangements for their daughter to attend a CAC education program.
And, a big shout out to our docent colleague Patrick Pyszka, whose Daytime Talk on August 28th, “Architecture’s Role in the History of Photography,” was a sold-out hit.
Just about the time this letter appears, the Architecture Biennial will start up. On September 16, CAC will host a reception for press and delegates attending the 2019 Biennial. The Biennial will be opening for press previews on September 17 and 18 and to the public on Thursday, September 19. CAC is again the official youth education provider.
You ask, we deliver: appearing soon on the Bridge – maybe even today – will be a revised version of the weather policy. This should sort out some of the snags regarding “Real Feel” versus actual temperature and how you predict when during a 24-hour period Chicago will reach its highest temperature. Kudos to the docent and Tour Department folks who figured out what to do about the weather. And Mark Twain said it couldn’t be done!
Months before the Iowa caucuses, election season is gearing up. There are 6 vacancies on Docent Council, plus a slot for a Docent-at-Large. Candidates are taping their stump speeches, and videos and bios will be appearing on the Bridge in good time. Results coincide with Docent Day on November 2nd.
One more important upcoming event is Open House Chicago, October 19-20. Keep an eye out for pleas for help. This is CAC’s biggest starring moment and we need all hand available.
So, there is a lot to see and do this month.
Best, Constance
Constance – The statistics for the year are interesting, but comparative statistics might be even more so. Since we no longer have as much walk-by traffic as we did when we were across the street from the Art Institute, many of us have wondered about the impact, if any, on our guest numbers (walking tour guests and bus tour guests, since obviously our new location is situated more favorably for River Cruise guests) of the new location.
Also, are there any estimates of the how the number of guests for the Chicago Model compares to the number when the Model was free? I realize that the “before” numbers are difficult to estimate, but perhaps there were occasional counts taken at the Model when we were in the Railway Exchange Building?