The U.S. Olympic Museum isn’t scheduled to open for almost two years, but museum curators Kathy and Dennis Barrie have already begun the research and design steps toward creating what they hope will be a national destination for history and sports enthusiasts. 

The Cleveland-based couple runs Barrie Projects, a museum and cultural planning firm that has curated a variety of projects, including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, the International Spy Museum in Washington and, recently, the Mob Museum in Las Vegas.

Their next big undertaking is Colorado Springs’ U.S. Olympic Museum, an $80 million, 60,000-square-foot project that will highlight the United States’ involvement in the Olympic and Paralympic Games through artifacts and interactive exhibits. The couple is developing the overall design and subject matter of the museum, which is set to open in 2018.

“There are so many layers and levels to this story of U.S. participation in the Games,” Barrie said. “We know people are coming to see what their favorite performance or era or sport is, but we also know they’re coming in to be surprised. To come up with the unexpected is one of our goals.

“Finding the right balance between giving a very full picture of U.S. participation in the Games and not overwhelming people – that’s the hardest thing.”

Barrie said visitors will enter the museum and ride an elevator to the top floor, where gradual ramps will take visitors through exhibits and eventually lead them down to ground level.

Fitting the Olympic and Paralympic theme, visitors of all physical abilities will have the same experience. That means no staircases between museum sections and a focus on braille and audio technology to assist those with hearing or vision impairment.

Another focus: making sure the museum is accurate and true to the details, regardless of controversy.

The Olympics have never shied away from controversy, and Barrie wants to candidly present topics related to the United States, such as Tommie Smith and John Carlos’ Black Power salute atop the podium at the 1968 Mexico City Games. The museum is expected to open during the 50th anniversary year of the track stars’ political statement.

“People are going to think you’re crazy if you leave out some of the biggest stories,” she said. “We’re going to do it in a straightforward way. You just present them as they are. You don’t have to editorialize.”

The curating couple is also working with Teresa Hedgpeth, the archivist and historic steward for the U.S. Olympic Committee, on gathering artifacts for the exhibits. Though Hedgpeth and the Barries have not yet chosen the specific pieces of history to display, the plan is for the USOC to loan memorabilia and keep a rotating cycle of items on display.

“Once we have that very solid (idea of specific topics), then we can look at the size of the displays,” Hedgpeth said. “My goal is to get as many items (in the museum) as possible.”

Barrie is hoping to display torches and medals from each of the Olympic and Paralympic Games and explain the human element of each piece.

The museum was originally scheduled to open prior to the 2018 Winter Olympics, but fundraising delays will likely push the opening date back to later that year.

Dennis Barrie

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Kathy Barrie

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