Financial History Issue 124 (Winter 2018) | Page 6

THE TICKER  MUSEUM NEWS
Collections Remain Unharmed as Museum
Facility Sustains Flood Damage
the Report on Public Credit, and you only
Museum an important cultural institution
need to remember six words describing our
endures. The staff, who can illuminate
national debt: It was the price of liberty.”
these incredible artifacts and bring finance
He would continue to explain why we as a
to the public in an understandable way,
country should honor our debts, and why
is ready for the challenge. We remain as
all of us in our business and personal lives
committed as ever to educating the public
should as well. We teach visitors life-long
on the power and importance of finance
financial lessons. This is the role we play and
to the economy and to our everyday lives.
will continue to play — with
With the ongoing support of our Board,
unique social relevance.
as well as our individual and corporate
With our Museum’s lease
members and the financial community
ending in three years, four
as a whole, we will continue to preserve,
David J. Cowen  |  President and CEO
months ago we wrote more
exhibit and teach American finance and
than 65 museums, financial
financial history. 
institutions, exchanges and
of the US Constitution. Water was on top
universities to explore a future partner-
Please note: All of the Museum’s daytime
of the case, but the document was dry. As
ship and to expand our reach and national
and evening events will proceed as sched-
I started to place large garbage pails under
presence. We have so far heard from 10
uled at off-site locations. For program venue
the various rainfalls, I realized that not
that would like to discuss a potential part-
information, as well as updates on the
one of our thousands of precious docu-
nership. The flood will likely expedite our
Museum’s recovery and reopening, please
visit our website at www.moaf.org or follow
ments or artifacts was damaged. All three
discussions. Opportunity abounds.
us on social media @FinanceMuseum.
floors of the Museum sustained water
While there has been damage to our
damage, our office was partially swamped
space, the essence of what makes the
and our auditorium was flooded, but
our archives were dry. The floor above
us where the pipe burst was ankle deep
before the water was shut off, and yet not
one piece of our nation’s financial history
was damaged. How is that possible? Luck?
Fate? A miracle? Probably a combination
of all three, along with the diligence of our
collections and exhibition teams.
Since then we have been working in
crisis mode. Winston Churchill is quoted
as saying, “Never let a good crisis go to
waste.” And we will not, because this is an
incredible opportunity.
Last February, at the Museum’s annual
gala, I shared my thoughts on what a state-
of-the-art finance museum could be. Exhi-
bitions would be thematically wrapped
around Public, Private and Personal
Finance, with a fourth area, “Prototype,”
that features Alexander Hamilton explain-
ing finance-led growth and free enterprise
as the best way. This would be a new way to
make the Museum come alive and resonate
David Cowen (center), pictured here with Gala honorees Ken Griffin and
with our visitors. I envision a hologram of
Timothy Geithner, updated the Museum’s supporters on the status of the
Hamilton saying, “I wrote 16,313 words in
Museum after the flood in his remarks at the 2018 Gala on February 6.
On January 14, during the Martin Luther
King, Jr. holiday weekend, I arrived at the
Museum to find it was literally raining
inside our space. I raced up the stairs to the
Alexander Hamilton Room, where many
of Hamilton’s original documents are on
display, including the Report on Public
Credit, which is the economic equivalent
4    FINANCIAL HISTORY  |  Winter 2018  | www.MoAF.org
Message to Members