On April 4, 2002, Peoria Mayor John Keegan, along with Robert and Louise McCall, unveiled plans for a new museum to be built in Peoria, the McCall Museum of Art. Also on April 4, the City of Peoria presented the first financial gift to the Museum, in the amount of $250,000. The Museum, which has a projected opening date of 2005, will be built adjacent to the Challenger Space Center. At 80,000 square feet, the Museum will include gallery space, a theater, café, library, gift shop, and artist workshop areas. The McCall Museum and the Challenger Center are the only two Smithsonian Institution affiliates in metropolitan Phoenix.
The McCall Museum of Art will house the lifetime body of work of Robert McCall, valued at over $3 million. Mr. McCall has documented the NASA space program for more than 35 years, and NASA’s provision of this ‘front row seat’ has allowed him to personally witness mankind’s progress and turn his observations into the magnificent pieces of art that form the body of his work. In addition to being America’s visual space historian, McCall has also sparked our collective imagination with regard to what may become our future history by serving as conceptual artist for the entertainment industry, where he worked on films such as Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey; Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and Disney’s The Black Hole.
Bob McCall’s work ranges from classic U.S. postage stamps to space flight mission patches to multi-story soaring murals, and all are a testament to the diversity of his work and talent. His work appears in museums across the globe, including the National Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum, both in Washington, D.C., and the Johnson Space Center in Houston. In addition, McCall painted the awe-inspiring mural entitled Tour of the Universe, located inside the Challenger Center’s six-story Space Rotunda.
“The McCall Museum is the continuation of a dream initiated among a small group of us with an ambitious vision of excellence in education, science, and art,” said Congressman Bob Stump. “The Challenger Space Center, the Smithsonian affiliations, and now the McCall Museum of Art are outstanding examples of the caliber of achievements of the West Valley, enhancing the future of all Arizonans.”
The McCall Museum of Art will be situated on eight acres directly across from the Challenger Center, on land the Peoria Unified School District has set aside for the Museum. The Museum will contain 25,000 square feet of gallery space, and will house a separate Smithsonian gallery to showcase treasures from America’s national museum.
“It is a great honor for Peoria to host both the Challenger Space Center and the McCall Museum of Art,” said Peoria Mayor John Keegan. “These facilities will be world-class educational and cultural destinations sure to provide tremendous experiences for our young people and increase Peoria’s appeal to visitors from around the world.”
The Museum designers are the Orcutt/Winslow Partnership; the General Contractor is Target General, Inc. Orcutt/Winslow also designed the Challenger Center, while Target General built the Center. The estimated cost is $15 million.
