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Part 4: Opening & Living Ever After - We Opened (1979)

Written by Mike Spock

There were celebratory parties for each category of stakeholders: a donors party, a professional colleagues party, a workers party, each with its own invitations. The most touching were the families of the construction workers who proudly brought their kids and parents so they could see the parts of the building that they had built themselves. By the opening, the initial tension between the union workers and the D&P staff (some of which were women) had pretty much evaporated. Each side now openly demonstrated mutual respect at their skill and hard work. The parties were celebrations for everyone!

Both museums opened with great fanfare on a gorgeous weekend day, July 1st. Captain Kangaroo acted as master of ceremony for the Children's Museum. A few weeks later Mister Rogers paid us a visit, too. Jonathan Hyde, who had organized their appearances as part of marketing the new location (and who was sweating the daily numbers for the first full year) couldn't resist calling attention to his completely different memories of the contrasting styles of the two guest celebrities: one completely self-absorbed and the other completely engaged—one on one—with each kid.