The New Chrysler

February 26, 1989

The Chrysler Museum of Norfolk houses one of the top art collections in the country, with more than 30,000 pieces of glass, furniture, paintings, sculpture, ceramics and photographs. Unfortunately, the museum structure was never quite able to showcase this treasure to its fullest.

The original 1933 building, with several later additions, featured a rather hodge-podge design. Frustrated visitors often weren't sure where they were on the tour or what they were supposed to be viewing next. Lighting was poor, and there wasn't adequate room to display the museum's vast holdings.

All that will change when the museum reopens to the public today. The Chrysler has been closed since Jan. 1 while workmen put finishing touches on a $13.5 million expansion and renovation project.

What the people of Hampton Roads will have now is essentially a new museum, one that is grander and more functional than the old. The main entrance is now back to where it was originally, facing the waters of the Hague. Galleries are large, yet still intimate. The flow of the floor plan finally makes sense; visitors no longer have to fear getting lost in some dead-end cavern. An innovative lighting system accentuates the details of the artwork.

The main function of any museum is not to flaunt what it owns, but to display those objects in a manner that enlightens the visitor about the times and customs of the artists. Presentation is important, and the new Chrysler will arrange its holdings in a unique format that provides viewers with a real study in the history of art.

Unlike most museums, the Chrysler will present its art objects chronologically rather than by national school. This logical display allows a visitor to really get a feel for how painting or sculpture, for example, developed across Europe during the ages, rather than in just one country.

A museum that contains one of the nation's most impressive collections now has a building to complement that distinction. Like a rare vase finally placed upon its proper pedestal, the Chrysler Museum is in much better view.

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