The Washington Pavilion is opening a new museum shop at the Steel District next summer. The 1,500 square-foot space will include a one-of-a-kind immersive arts experience and gift shop, Pavilion President and CEO Darrin Smith said.
When the Washington Pavilion first opened in the historic former Washington High School building 24 years ago, they had a museum store, but it really struggled, Smith said. The location of the store wasn’t great, and it didn’t make a lot of sense financially to keep it open, so it closed soon after.
“Now I feel like we are probably one of the only museums on the planet that doesn’t have a museum store,” Smith said. “I mean, you couldn’t even buy a postcard or a coffee cup with our name on it.”
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About one year ago, Lloyd Companies’ founder Craig Lloyd reached out to the Pavilion with a proposition to create the shop they never had, just a little further uptown.
Unique shop to feature local art scene, collectibles
When Lloyd Companies purchased the Sioux Steel property — which is where the Steel District is now — from the Rysdon family, one of the stipulations was that it would have a “significant art presence,” Smith said.
While Lloyd and his friend, photographer Paul Schiller, were in Florida, they came across similar museum shops and decided it would be just the thing to bring to the Steel District.
“(Lloyd) asked if we had any interest in doing this and said he’ll do what he can to make it happen,” Smith said. “It was completely out of the blue, but we at the Pavilion decided pretty quickly that this could be really cool and really successful. It won’t be like anything we have in Sioux Falls.”
Smith and other members of the Washington Pavilion spent several months researching how this type of immersive store might work, as it won’t be a traditional museum shop.
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The yet-to-be-named store will sell artwork exclusively by local and regional artists, jewelry, clothing and museum collectibles, as well as some STEAM-focused (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) items that you’d expect at a children’s science center.
The space will also host art receptions and live entertainment. Smith said they will have a beer and wine license so people can drink while they peruse the shop or take in the art.
The ‘perfect location’ for arts and community
The store will be located in the northeast corner of the Steel District’s wrap retail and apartment building, so there will be direct access to the Lloyd Landing and the River Greenway. Smith said they’ll even be able to host outdoor events.
“We’ll have the ability to really activate those areas and bring them to life with entertainment,” Smith said. “It’s really going to be a perfect location for us, and we just couldn’t be happier about that.”
Things like Levitt, bike trails, Jacobsen Plaza and Riverfest should also draw in a lot of people to the store, Smith said.
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“Having the Pavilion be a part of The Steel District will surely drive traffic to our development as well,” Raquel Blount, a broker at Lloyd Companies, said. “We just love the opportunity for partnership, and we think it’s a perfect place to feature Sioux Falls and to bring the arts to the area and to the community.”
The building is set to open in June 2024, and Smith said this will coincide perfectly with the 25th anniversary of the Washington Pavilion, which is June 1, 2024.
“It will be so special to open around that time. It feels like it was meant to be,” Smith said.
The Washington Pavilion has already started its search for a manager to run the store. While store hours haven’t been set yet, Smith said the Pavilion plans to keep the store open seven days a week.