Cleveland Rocks For Curator Of The Hall (cont.)
Q: I know you have a lot of objects that aren't out on display right now. How do you feel about the amount of space you have for displays?
A: I think it's a fair, decent amount of space. And certainly between the theaters and everything else, it gives people a lot to look at. So that's not too bad of a problem.
Q: How do you keep things fresh for people who might want to come for a return visit?
A: We change our big exhibit at least once a year and we tend to add two or three small ones once per year to freshen things up.
Q: The decision to put the Hall in Cleveland is still controversial for some people. In retrospect, do you think it was the right decision and why?
A: I think the thing about Cleveland or why they often don't get the proper respect for Cleveland [is a lack of understanding about] the way they actually got it. It was the government leaders, then the corporate leaders in Cleveland who wanted it to put Cleveland on the map and making it a tourist destination -- which it has done. Most of our visitors come from outside the region, from out of state and out of the country.
There was also a grassroots movement here of fans that really wanted it. I can sort of relate to that, growing up in Cleveland. In the ?60s and ?70s it was a great music town. There were always great radio stations here and there were always a lot of bands playing. I remember when I left Cleveland and went to go see the Rolling Stones when I started to interview bands, they started talking and ask "Where are you from?" and I'd say Cleveland and virtually all of them would say "Oh that's the best place to play, they have the best audiences there."
So Cleveland, even at its worst years when it was at its lowest, it was always a good rock'n'roll city. It's a great place to have [the museum].
It really was this combined effort. It was interesting because when we had the opening a friend of mine name Joel Sullivan from a newspaper out in San Francisco came to cover it. He had been a part of the effort to have the Hall of Fame in San Francisco and he would say, "You know I can never figure out why Cleveland would've gotten it and not San Francisco." But when he came here he realized "Gosh, the mayor's here, the governor's here, that person's here, this person's here" -- and in San Francisco it was this small music community that wanted it and their mayor wasn't involved.
So I have to give Cleveland the credit for that. I think one of the really good things that people don't realize is that its done a lot for the city of Cleveland and there's a huge population around the area, with Chicago and Detroit and all that, so we do get a lot of visitors around here that are visiting from neighboring states. I'm happy that it's here. I'm happy for the city of Cleveland.
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