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By Lookout Staff

November 28 -- The Santa Monica Historical Society Museum passed the $1 million fundraising mark this month thanks to a $250,000 donation from Morley Builders.

The contribution, the single largest to date, pushes the museum more than halfway past its goal of raising $2 million to build and operate a state-of-the-art facility at the new Main Public Library Downtown.

"Morley Builders is the gold standard of corporate involvement in the community,” said Louise Gabriel, president/CEO of the Santa Monica Historical Society Museum.

“Morley Builders’ support of the museum's new permanent home is particularly appropriate because it built the Santa Monica Public Main Library within which the new museum will be located.”

Mark Benjamin (center), president and CEO of Morley Builders, presents a $250,000 check to Historical Society Board Vice Chair Iao Katagiri (left) and Chair Jean McNeil Wyner (right).

Morley’s donation will support the Morley Builders Research Library, which will offer a hands-on, discover-and-explore environment for lively, pertinent programming, workshops and events, as well as continuing research on rare historical material, according to museum officials.

A unique component of the research library will be the “Digital Discovery Center,” which will make available to researchers and students the museum’s collections through a digital catalog that includes a rare and large collection of images.

The donation comes months before the non-profit museum is scheduled to move into its permanent new home at the Main Library after operating in various temporary venues, including its current site at 1539 Euclid Street, since its founding in 1975.

The convenient downtown location will offer residents the opportunity to explore and learn about Santa Monica’s rich and diverse history in an exciting new cultural center, museum officials said.

To complete the new facility and make the move, the museum is raising money by offering naming opportunities for major gifts that will be permanently recognized within the facility, museum officials said.

Benefactors can choose to support interactive exhibits and theme areas in the permanent gallery, the changing exhibit gallery and the lobby. To become a supporter, please call (310) 395-2290 or visit www.santamonicahistory.org.