This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Two years after first gutting the former Salt Lake City Main Library — after a messy management shake-up, financial queries and a political tug-of-war with City Hall — The Leonardo has announced an Oct. 8 grand opening.
Downtown's long-awaited museum at 209 E. 500 South promises a multidisciplinary blend of science, technology and art. Executives say it will be so new and different that it will turn the museum model "on its head." But that novelty also has fueled questions — and periodic skepticism from politicians and philanthropists alike.
The Leonardo was to have opened last April, but renovation of the 1960s-vintage building on Library Square, including a seismic upgrade and asbestos removal, was not completed on schedule.
Museum officials, who are renting the building for $1 a month from the city, stress they are thrilled to soon welcome visitors after surviving the rocky renovation road.
"It's going to be quite a day for Salt Lake City," said Leonardo spokeswoman Lisa Davis. "There is this consistent narrative visitors will experience throughout the building, which is tapping into their curiosity."
Prices and hours will be revealed in mid-September. Davis says the museum expects to welcome 20,000 field-trip students each year. And it will stay open late at least one night per week to accommodate working adults.
Exhibits include a gene lab — probing identity questions through the lenses of genetics, synthetic biology, personalized health care, molecular genealogy and social phenomena — overseen by Nobel Laureate Mario Capecchi. There also is a human rights art display, 3-D animation hub, and the striking, experimental "Hylozoic Soil" exhibit, created by artist and architect Philip Beesley.
"The people of Utah are in for something special," Leonardo Executive Director Peter Giles said in a news release. "Visitors to The Leonardo should put away their old expectations and come ready to experience something new; something that has never been done quite this way before."
Nearly eight years have passed since voters approved a $10.2 million bond to support an entirely new kind of interactive museum in the heart of Utah's capital city. In 2008, Mayor Ralph Becker threatened to pull back the bond when the museum's costs ballooned and a naming-rights deal collapsed. Since then, the project was streamlined and private donations were secured.
The Oct. 8 opening is six weeks before the scheduled reopening of the Utah Museum of Natural History, giving "the Leo" some valuable time to have Utah's science enthusiasts largely to itself. But its opening coincides with the University of Utah's heavily hyped football game against the Arizona State Sun Devils in the Utes' second home contest with a Pac-12 rival — so the Leonardo opening likely will be the second-biggest event in town that day.
Davis downplays any schedule conflict, noting the museum couldn't open a week earlier (LDS conference) or any later without crowding the gala opening for the natural history museum. "We welcome the fans that are going to the football game," she said.
Museum officials had hoped for a summer opening before the unusually wet spring and related construction snags pushed the date back.
Rick Graham, the city's director of public services, says the contractor has now completed everything but finishing touches. "There are still a few things that need to be done," he said, "but they are outside the scope of having an impact on the occupancy permit."
The city and the Centerville-based contractor still are in a dispute over "liquidated damages" due to delays, but Graham says "they are getting resolved."
Becker, who had been impatient with the Leonardo's slow fundraising, is pleased the project is reaching the finish line.
"The Leonardo will add a new dimension to Library Square, bringing even more energy and excitement to our urban setting," the mayor said in a statement. "I fully anticipate The Leonardo will become a major destination for residents and visitors, reinforcing Salt Lake City's role as the cultural core of our region."
Looking for volunteers
The Leonardo is looking for people with specialized skills in electronics, art, engineering and architecture to help assemble exhibits at the new museum on Library Square. Shifts run Tuesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Anyone interested can contact volunteer coordinator Debbie Hall at dhall@theleonardo.org or call 801-531-9800.