Bond/Spy Museum No Secret in Kankakee, Illinois
Though it involves one of the world's most celebrated spies these plans are not for your eyes only.
The Kankakee River Valley in Illinois will soon be home to a museum devoted to James Bond, the fictional secret agent who always beats the bad guy and ends up with the girl. Plans for the museum were recently made public. Global architecture firm Gensler has designed the 14,000-square foot facility that will be constructed in the city of Momence. The Museum of Bond Vehicles and Espionage is slated to open in 2012, which is the 50th anniversary of the first Bond movie, "Dr. No."
The museum will not only feature Bond's unparalleled collection of vehicles, but also showcase an array of spy gear and gadgets. Exhibits will explore cultural effects on the Bond films and Bond's imprint on popular culture.
Gensler unveiled it's design for the museum on July 8. Drawings of the building show it as a simple rectangular building with a dominating window that follows the shape of a seven, as in 007.
“It’s a mysterious silhouette that reveals very little of the museum’s content, much like James Bond himself,” said Gensler design director Brian Vitale. “The project itself is a bit of a double agent. At face value, we’ve designed a showcase for a world-class collection of James bond vehicles and the culture that surrounds them. But its real mission is to become a powerful catalyst for the revitalization of a once-vibrant city.”
The project is a partnership between the Ian Fleming Foundation, a non-profit group, the city of Momence and the Kankakee County Museum. The vehicles are owned by the Ian Fleming Fountain and include the famous silver-grey Aston Martin DB5 (first seen in Goldfinger), V8 Vantage, V12 Vanquish, DBS, Lotus Esprit, BMW Z3, BMW 750iL and BMW Z8. There are more than 30 vehicles in the collection, which is worth more than $5 million.
It's estimated that more than 20,000 people will visit the museum each year.
