Being an active factory, tours are the only way to visit the site. This has the advantage of orienting the visitor to the site in a manner that was sadly lacking at the Mercer Museum. The tour starts with a short film about Henry Mercer and his life and how the tiles are made. Then the tour is entirely self directed via signs throughout the factory. Periodically there are people working various jobs throughout who offer information about the site and the tiles.
The building is based on a Spanish Mission and is entirely made of concrete once again. The floors all slope downward to facilitate in hosing the entire factory out periodically. The first room that you enter is Henry Mercer's office/show room and it is richly decorated using tiles created at the factory. Here are a few pictures to show the amazing work on display:
The grand fire place with a story written out in clay tiles
The work area for sketching out designs
This museum was very well staffed and curated. Everything was labeled and clearly explained. This probably comes from the fact that this museum was created in the last twenty years after the factory was painstaking restored, unlike the Mercer Museum, which has remained mostly as Henry Mercer envisioned it.
What do you think, should founder's visions always be followed through with precision?
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I definitely think that the founder's vision should always be considered when a museum is thinking of changing or evolving. The museum's staff should not feel like they have to follow the founder's vision to the T but they should make sure they always have that vision in the forefront when making major decisions. If they do this, they might be able to put the decision making into more of a perspective.
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