One of my favorite museums in Chicago closed last year in order to build their new home. The Museum of Broadcast Communications moved out of the Chicago Cultural Center (across from The Bean) and are preparing to move into their new space near Marina City.
Having grown up as a sort of real-life version of Martin Tupper, the MBC is the perfect place to see all sorts of childhood memories “in person.” The sets and costumes from WGN’s Bozo’s Circus are there, as are the puppets from BJ & Dirty Dragon, Cartoon Town, and Gigglesnort Hotel. A bunch of Frazier Thomas’ stuff is there, too, including his puppets and the set from Family Classics.
In addition to the TV stuff, there’s a huge collection of radio memorabilia from the “golden days.”
My friend Holly is a curator at the MBC and forwarded me the press release that’s on the next page. It’s good to see that media companies still take an interest in their past.

TV Land and Chicago’s Museum of Broadcast Communications Join Forces to Celebrate Comedy
Chicago — TV Land will step into the Comedy spotlight at the new $22-million Museum of Broadcast Communications (MBC), now being developed in Chicago. The 10-year partnership includes an undisclosed monetary donation as well as a major promotional commitment from the network that underscores TV Land’s commitment to the preservation of television and radio comedy.
The donation to the non-profit radio and television museum will support the development of a highly interactive comedy exhibit, detailing the history of comedy on both radio and television. It will include a wide variety of classic and contemporary highlight clips from the genre’s most memorable shows. The exhibit will also include original TV Land content that celebrates the pioneers of TV comedy as well as touch-screen kiosks that test a visitor’s TV knowledge. Additionally, the exhibit will include excerpts from the critically acclaimed MBC Encyclopedia of Television and the MBC Encyclopedia of Radio.
The 70,000-square-foot facility, scheduled to open in downtown Chicago in July of 2006, will feature nine genre focused exhibits on the evolution of American radio and television. In addition to Comedy, exhibits are being planned about Drama, Music, News, Talk, Sports, Game shows, Children’s shows and Commercials. Other exhibits will introduce visitors to the pioneers who created the radio and television industry, the business side and promotional side of broadcasting and an exhibit introducing guests to a wide variety of career opportunities in the industry. A working radio and television studio will offer visitors with a take-away hands-on experience on the air.
“TV Land is proud to support The Museum of Broadcast Communications and its efforts to preserve one of the most popular and enduring facets of entertainment: Comedy,” explains Larry W. Jones, President, TV Land and Nick at Nite. “The commitment and spirit to the preservation of all facets of television and radio communications is an important undertaking and the MBC’s vision and dedication is shared by everyone at TV Land. We eagerly anticipate the opening of this important and highly entertaining Museum, which will only add to Chicago’s already vibrant cultural scene.”
“Comedy was the foundation of both radio and television programming and TV Land is synonymous with classic comedy,” said Bruce DuMont, MBC Founder and President in announcing the major donation. “I know Larry Jones and his TV Land executive team have a love affair with comedy, and with their help, by using sounds and pictures, rare artifacts and dynamic retrospectives, we will create a remarkable museum experience,” DuMont added.
TV Land and the MBC will also create a series of public programs featuring comedy pioneers. Comedy artifacts in the exhibit will include original Edgar Bergen puppets Charlie McCarthy, Mortimer Snerd and Effie Klinker, a replica of Fibber McGee’s famous closet and scripts from the long running radio classic, an I Dream of Jeannie bottle and the original Ernie Kovacs’ Nairobi Trio masks. Cincinnati’s Jack Rouse Associates, one of America’s leading museum design firms, is creating the museum experience along with Steve Ryan of ShoConcepts of Hollywood, California.
The new Museum of Broadcast Communications is projecting first year attendance in excess of 240,000 visitors in its new tourist-friendly home. The new museum will be located one block from the new Trump Tower Chicago and directly adjacent to two popular Chicago tourist attractions — the famed House of Blues and Harry Caray’s restaurant.
The TV Land donation follows a recent $1-million donation from Paul and Angel Harvey, a $500,000 donation from DisneyHand, worldwide outreach of The Walt Disney Company, and $250,000 grants from The Oprah Winfrey Foundation, Lee Phillip Bell of The Young and the Restless and Chicago’s Polk Bros. Foundation.
TV Land and all related logos and titles are trademarks of Viacom International, Inc.
Now seen in over 82 million U.S. homes, TV Land’s program mix features popular dramas, sitcoms, westerns, Retromercials and a TV-referential interstitial environment, all programmed with a specific audience in mind — the first generation of Americans to grow up watching television and features all time classic hits like All in the Family, I Love Lucy, The Andy Griffith Show, Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie.
The Museum of Broadcast Communications is one of only three broadcast museums in the United States. The new MBC will be the first public museum in the nation to achieve the Gold rating of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) criteria.
For more information or to view the sketch of the TV Land Comedy exhibit at the new MBC, please visit www.Museum.TV.