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Reimagining the Whaley House Museum Shop
March/April 2018
By Alana Coons
 The earliest known photograph of the Whaley House, c. 1874 |
The inspiration for rethinking the Whaley House Museum Shop in the 1870s Verna House next door came from the pop-up boutiques that you often find accompanying a special exhibition at an art or science museum. These attractive shops maintain the museum's primary mission of education for all ages, while capitalizing on the visitors' desire to see and know more. They design a pop-up shop specifically and exclusively for one special show, zeroing in on its subject. Books and gift items directly connect the visitor with the single exhibit.
Fronting on bustling San Diego Avenue has helped make the Whaley House shop one of the most popular shops in Old Town San Diego. For 17 years, it's been known for a vast and diverse variety of 19th and early 20th century-themed gifts, books, and toys you wouldn't find anywhere else in town.
However, with every delivery of new stock and the ensuing breakdown and recycling of packing materials, the SOHO staff felt an obligation to somehow lessen our carbon footprint and still operate a successful shop to raise funds for preservation. Taking inspiration from this idea of the pop-up store, we thought why not apply the same concept and move away from hundreds of inventory choices to feature just a few dozen carefully curated items?
This would also open up a space allowing us to further the museum's narrative by weaving in historic imagery, original family writings, and artifacts from SOHO's collection that are not seen in the house and will be rotated throughout the year.
This tighter focus allows our visitor services staff to interact on a more qualitative level with guests before they set foot inside the museum. The displays will inform shoppers about historic preservation and stimulate their curiosity and imagination with portrayals of the fascinating history of the home, its grounds, and family stories.
A centerpiece of the shop is SOHO's book, The History & Mystery of the Whaley House, published in 2016. In addition to expanding upon the stories visitors hear on the tour, the book chronicles the family's numerous personal experiences with ghosts or haunted occurrences. The family seemed to have a healthy interest in both spiritualism and the paranormal; the last play daughter Violet Whaley saw before her death in 1885 was "The Haunted House," described as a sidesplitting farce. Accordingly, some of the shop's newly designed keepsake items cater to the home's 150-year-old haunted history and its international following.
We hope you'll visit the new Whaley House Museum Shop in the Verna House, at 2476 San Diego Avenue, with family and friends soon, starting mid March, and do let us know what you think!
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