The long-awaited Minnesota African American Museum and Cultural Center will open its doors to the public next Saturday in a 128-year-old renovated mansion just south of downtown Minneapolis.
The Hennepin County Board last week accepted a $1 million state grant on behalf of the museum, which is in the first part of a two-phase project to restore the historic Coe Mansion for display galleries and build a state-of-the-art cultural center next door for programs, workshops and lectures.
The brick Queen Anne mansion, at 1700 3rd Av. S., is on the National Register of Historic Places. The museum's website is www.maamcc.org.
The budget for mansion renovation is $2 million. The nonprofit museum is responsible for project costs above the $1 million state grant, and has received other public and private donations of more than $1.1 million. It's conducting a capital campaign to raise $6.1 million.
Its first exhibit will feature black baseball and its effect on the Upper Midwest.
Lead organizer and co-founder Roxanne Givens has said that the Twin Cities is one of the country's few metro areas without a museum about African-Americans.
