HOW WE SEE IT: Museum Marks First Anniversary

It’s not unusual these days for new buildings to be utilitarian but uninspiring pieces of architecture. The costs associated with a building that “makes a statement” are often too great for their owners to bear, or sometimes the ideas that buildings can evoke something more is lost on the one writing the checks.

It’s been 364 days since Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art opened nestled into a Bentonville ravine. It houses masterpieces that are beautiful.

But time and time again, we’ve heard the museum’s visitors remark the building itself is worth thejourney.

Honestly, it’s impossible to pick only one thing about this institution that’s worth the journey.

It all is. The 120 treecovered acres feature trails that invite visitors to enjoy the beauty of nature. The exhilarationof discovering why the featured art is among the best this nation has produced. The wonder one feels when taking in the building both inside and out. The outstanding programs.

But Crystal Bridges isn’t just about each individual’s cultural experience. Just as the founding and expansion of Walmart by Sam Walton set Bentonville and the region on a course of success unimaginable in the years before the company’s existence, Crystal Bridges has begun a transformation of economic and cultural signfi cance.

Walton’s daughter, Alice, led the effort by the Walton Family Foundation to establish a new art mecca in the most unlikely of places. No one could blame her or the other Walton billionaires, who all get their share of sneering commentaries about their wealth or criticisms of the company their patriarch founded, if they just withdrew. But they’ve chosen a different course, one that will have a positive impact on Northwest Arkansas for decades to come.

Their philanthropy isn’t just doling out money.

It’s finding ways to make a diff erence. Camp War Eagle, the summer camp Alice Walton developed on the shores of Beaver Lake, is one other far-reaching philanthropic eff ort.

With a year of Crystal Bridges behind us as of Sunday, we offer up two seemingly inadequate words: Thank you.

This museum is drawing thousands of people to Northwest Arkansas each year, creating an economic impact that spreads throughout the region. How many visitors stick around and sample more the region has to offer? We’d venture the impact is farreaching.

Locally, the collection of art and the architecture surrounding it have given thousands of students and adults an unparalleled opportunity to see a caliber of art many might never get to experience otherwise.

Nothing expands one’s appreciation for art quite like witnessing some of its fi nest examples.

Crystal Bridges is also one of those types of amenities that grab the attention of companies considering Northwest Arkansas as a base of operations. The region has many more, but it’s no coincidence the Walton name is on several of them.

Conventional wisdom says the presence of such amenities will make attracting new businesses easier.

The bottom line for us, a year into this experience with a major art museum in little ol’ Bentonville, is one of expectation. The ripple effects of its opening won’t be measured at all by the passage of a year. We suspect its influence will be felt for decades, both locally and beyond the region’s borders.

This gift to the region cannot be overappreciated.

If you haven’t been yet, you have to make it a priority to see all Crystal Bridges has to off er. We’ve seen it and can’t wait for the next opportunity to visit a little ravine in Bentonville from which an amazing experience fl ows.

Opinion, Pages 5 on 11/10/2012

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