Assets & Spaces

08 Assets & Spaces

Facility & Sites The MAH itself is located in a privately owned building on Santa Cruz County property (the County leases the property to the MAH). Within it, there is approximately 8,000 square feet of exhibition/gallery space and 2,750 square feet for collections/archives. The MAH also operates three historic structures/sites: Evergreen Cemetery, Davenport Jail, and the Octagon Building. In addition, we manage the adjacent McPherson Center office building as commercial rental property, which includes Abbott Square Market.

Collections The MAH maintains a research library, archive, and curatorial collection. The art collection (300 objects) primarily consists of sculpture, paintings, and prints by California artists, particularly from the Monterey Bay area. The history collection contains more than 7,000 items, most of which are objects of historical significance to Santa Cruz County that date back to the early 1900’s.

Exhibition Spaces The MAH has two permanent exhibitions: the History Gallery and the rooftop Blanchard Sculpture Garden. Three other galleries (Art Forum, Lezin, Solari) offer rotating exhibitions (6–8 per year, each 3–12 months in duration). These present artworks and/or artifacts related to stories or themes that reflect the dynamism and diversity of Santa Cruz County.

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“Performance artists, innovators and scientists will entertain and educate guests of all ages in a celebration that is a bit like a Santa Cruz version of Burning Man.” —Santa Cruz Sentinel, on GLOW