Museums to live on

The Mesa Historical Museum and the Arizona Museum for Youth will be merged and housed downtown with the highly successful Cactus League exhibit coming along. Its not clear on what will happen to the old school house that currently serves as the home of the historical museum, but overall, the notion of centralizing all of the museums into downtown is a smart move.

There is a fine line to walk here between maintaining cultural amenities and catering to the changing needs of the community. I am sure that there are people who will say that the Historical Museum should be left alone, but lets be honest - museums, for the most part, are a quality of life amenity that must be subsidized by either the cities or other organizations. We know that Mesa has had major economic troubles, so from the "glass full" perspective, its good that Mesa is able to keep any museums open at all.

In addition, with the success of the Cactus League exhibit, it makes sense for them to look for a permanent home for it. Give people what they want to see. If something is successful and is attracting people to Mesa, put it in the most centralized location possible, make it easy to find, and encourage people to shop and stop for a bite to eat while they are there.