Suburban Kansas Dream: Museum of Suburbia

[cpzilliacus]

From the Wall Street Journal:  Suburban Kansas Dream: Museum of Suburbia - Plan for Exhibits on Bowling, Lawn Furniture Inspires Neighborhood Spat; Faux Fence

More than half of America lives in the suburbs. The others, too, will be able to savor suburbia by coming to this Kansas City, Mo., suburb if local planners have their way.

Museum officials in Johnson County, Kan., propose spending $34 million to create the National Museum of Suburbia, a faux suburb where visitors could wander through a model ranch-style home, wonder at an exhibit of lawn furniture and topple pins on a re-created bowling lane.

Among envisioned exhibits, to be built inside a cavernous former bowling alley and skating rink: a backyard fence with peepholes that let museum visitors spy on fake suburban neighbors played by actors in period suburban clothing.

[Scott5114]

Why am I not surprised someone had this idea in Johnson County...?

[J N Winkler]

It is indeed very much a Johnson County thing--one museum dedicated to the suburban lifestyle, which has been open for at least a decade and which I have visited, is the All-Electric House.

[Scott5114]

It is indeed very much a Johnson County thing--one museum dedicated to the suburban lifestyle, which has been open for at least a decade and which I have visited, is the All-Electric House.

The article mentions that the museum that, erm, houses the All-Electric House was damaged by a flood. Having a better place to store it and other suburban artifacts was what led to the Suburban Museum idea.

[realjd]

A "re-created" bowling lane? It's not like the knowledge on how to construct bowling lanes was lost centuries ago or something.

[Alps]

It's not like you can't just go to an actual suburb. Like the one housing this museum. WTF?

[NE2]

TV screens in the lawn care area play the Star Trek episode where Wesley faces the death penalty for stepping on plants on repeat.