THERE’S NO LODGING AND ONLY ONE RESTAURANT. IT’S UP TO THE COMMUNITY AND THE SURROUNDING AREA TO PROVIDE THESE OPPORTUNITIES
Tours will last about 30 minutes, as the house is so small, but we expect people to spend longer at the exhibits.
When does it open? We hope to open the fi rst phase in spring 2014, with the exhibits in the administration building and the Cash house. When we fi nish the administra- tion building, theatre, out buildings and walkway depends on how our fundrais- ing goes – hopefully within three years.
What are the costs? The project is costing about $3.2m (£2m, €2.5m). At this point we’ve raised $1.7m (£1m, €1.25m). The Arkansas Natural Resources Council, which gives grants to state agencies for restoration projects and preserving state owned properties, has
AM 2 2013 ©cybertrek 2013
(Top and bottom left) much of the house has been restored; (bottom right) the original linoleum fl ooring
given us three grants totalling $1m (£653,000, €765,000) for restoring the administration building. Our annual Johnny Cash music festival has raised $300,000 (£196,000, €229,500) for the house. We’ve just received a grant for $100,000 (£65,300, €76,500) from The National Endowment for the Humanities and have had contributions from private individuals.
How many visitors are expected? We’ve looked at visitor numbers to the Elvis Presley boyhood home in Tupelo, Mississippi, which is comparable, as
both sites represent the very humble roots that two major music icons came from. We’re projecting 30,000 a year initially, increasing to 50,000. We’re in a very rural place, so don’t have big crowds of people – they have to be making a specifi c trip to get here.
What will the project offer to visitors and the area? We hope to work with the community to develop other experiences for visi- tors. It’s a small community, so there’s no lodging, only one restaurant and nowhere to spend any money. It’s up to the community and the surrounding area to provide these opportunities. We’re looking at creating experiences
that will focus on the 1930s era. For example, when the Dyess colony was in operation, it had many communal
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PHOTO: BEN MULDROW
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