Newsletter April 2026: Blue Skies and Real Momentum

April 8, 2026

Dear Museum friends,

April arrives with blue skies and real momentum. We are energized by our engagement with you, our community, and partners as we shape the remarkable Palo Alto stories that will anchor our inaugural exhibitions.

On March 28, our Women’s History Month event highlighted Juana Briones. Her legacy as entrepreneur, healer, landowner, advocate, and matriarch will be featured in our main hall, including a portion of the wall from her 1844 home alongside artifacts on display for the first time.

Following this winter’s water intrusion in the basement of our landmark Roth Building, I’m pleased to share that we are identifying underlying causes and advancing solutions. In close collaboration with expert consultants, experienced advisors, and City staff, our team is making steady headway. We have safely relocated our historic collection to upper floors and cleared the basement to enable critical remediation work. Keeping the building closed allows us to move faster and more safely. We’re making daily progress and will share updates soon—including a new opening date.

In the meantime, please join us for upcoming Museum events, either on our grounds or at venues across Palo Alto. Until the day we can open our doors, we look forward to connecting with you in the community—sharing stories and celebrating what makes Palo Alto so special.

Thank you for your continued support and enthusiasm. I look forward to seeing you soon at an upcoming event!

Warmly,

Marguerite Gong Hancock
(Supported by a founding leadership gift of the Thoits Family)
President & CEO

THIS MONTH AT THE MUSEUM

From Vision to Reality: Bringing the Palo Alto Museum to Life

FRIDAY | APRIL 10 | 6–7 PM
Pacific Art League, 668 Ramona Street, Palo Alto

Join Marguerite Gong Hancock for a behind-the-scenes look at the journey to create a museum that captures Palo Alto’s unique role in shaping the world. The Palo Alto Museum will showcase stories of innovators, changemakers, culture‑creators, and everyday residents whose lives have sparked impact far beyond our city limits. The Museum will be a vibrant hub to learn from the past, strengthen community today, and inspire a brighter future.

Don’t miss this sneak peek into the Museum’s opening exhibits, gathering spaces, and dynamic events. Whether you are passionate about local history, hands-on learning, building community, or turning ideas into impact, this is a unique opportunity to see how a vision is becoming reality—and how you can be part of the story.

Free for Pacific Art League (PAL) members. $20 for non-PAL members.

Happy Birthday, Palo Alto!

A Town Like No Other

TUESDAY | APRIL 21 | 7–8:30 PM
Meeting Room, Palo Alto Art Center, 1313 Newell Road, Palo Alto

Celebrate Palo Alto’s 132nd birthday with an engaging talk by the author of the Museum’s first publication, A Town Like No Other: Palo Alto Stories! Discover Palo Alto through Wyn Wachhorst’s stories of the remarkable blend of people and ideas that shaped the place. From Anna Zschokke to Lee de Forest to Lucie Stern to Mr. Palo Alto, you will meet pioneers and politicians, inventors and developers, merchants and humanitarians, teachers and healers, all of whom contributed to the city’s unique character.

Raised among the friendly streets and front porch calm of postwar Palo Alto, award-winning historian Wachhorst writes with insight and affection about a community balanced between rural roots and suburban promise. This book is both a historical journey and a tribute to the place so many have called home.

A Town Like No Other: Palo Alto Stories (2025)

300+ page heirloom edition book
$50 plus tax

Free admission. All proceeds from book sales benefit the Museum.

IMAGE: From left: author Wyn Wachhorst and book project sponsor Roxy Rapp.

MUSEUM PREVIEW

Women’s History Month

On March 28, the Museum hosted a special Women’s History Month event honoring Juana Briones (1802–1889), a woman who played an extraordinary role in Palo Alto’s early history. Her relatives Lorraine Ruiz Frain and Magdaline Reynolds—her fourth and fifth great-grand niece respectively—shared stories from Juana’s life. “I’m honored to be connected to Juana Briones,” said Lorraine. “We try to keep her as an image of a model woman.” The historic artifacts from Juana’s home were interpreted by Dr. Greg Bernal-Mendoza Smestad, an 8th-generation Californio (descendant of the 1776–1776 Anza expedition). The “draw your own rancho” art project was especially popular with the children. The exhibition preview by Museum content developer Emma Beckman engaged more than 50 guests, including City Councilmember Pat Burt and Mayor Vicki Veenker. Attendees learned how Juana defied social expectations as a healer, rancher, landowner, entrepreneur, and matriarch. History is fuller when all its stories are told!

You too can engage with Juana’s incredible story, and earn points you can redeem for Palo Alto Museum merchandise, local business vouchers, and more! Discover this Palo Alto story right now through Museum in Your Pocket.

Image (top): The Museum’s Juana Briones event drew a crowd to the Museum’s central Courtyard.
Image (above left): The Museum’s facilities manager, Kitzi Tanner (right), shares Juana’s story with an attentive audience.

Image (above center): Greg Smestad (right) explains how rammed earth was used to build Juana Briones’ home.
Image (above right): From left: Palo Alto Mayor Vicki Veenker and Museum President & CEO Marguerite Gong Hancock listen to Lorraine Ruiz Frain’s stories of Juana Briones.

DONOR SPOTLIGHT

Jane Shah

We are delighted to announce that Jane Shah has made a pledge commitment for $250,000 to the Museum, plus future estate gifts. Jane is a proud Palo Altan, born and raised with her three siblings near the corner of Hale Street and University Ave. “[The city] has a special spirit or vibe that comes from the University and also the community,” said Jane. “The preservation of the history of Palo Alto means so much to me.” As a lifelong educator who majored in history, she is glad to support an institution where students and the public can come see artifacts.

This generous donation is a testament to her strong belief in the Museum’s future. As she tells it, Jane spent three years researching small, impactful organizations that aligned with her values and could help her support a legacy. She came across the Museum “almost by accident” when she learned that the Roth building would be transformed into a museum. “This is something that will last,” she said. “This project is so worthy of support, interest, and community involvement.”

Image: From left: Donor Jane Shah and Museum President & CEO Marguerite Gong Hancock

COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP

Palo Alto Historical Association

On March 1, the Palo Alto Historical Association (PAHA) hosted Museum CEO & President Marguerite Gong Hancock for a lively public talk. PAHA Historian and Museum Board Member Steve Staiger and Museum Vice Chair Karen Holman set the stage by sharing the Museum’s history with the audience.

Marguerite unveiled a sneak peek of the Museum, covering the renovation of the historic Roth building before previewing one of several engaging exhibits in development, From Hooves to Hollywood: Palo Alto Movie Breakthroughs & Blockbusters. The exhibit traces the history of motion pictures from Eadweard Muybridge’s photographs of galloping horses at Palo Alto Stock Farm to the growth of animation to famous Palo Altans who work behind and in front of the camera in Hollywood today.

This talk at PAHA is part of a larger collaboration. Soon, the Museum and PAHA will work together to make the Guy Miller Archives of the City of Palo Alto accessible to the public. The Archives will move to a purpose-built space on the Museum’s second floor, where PAHA will continue maintaining the Archives and helping visitors discover photographs, maps, and more. PAHA Historian Darla Secor’s research on historic photos that will feature in some of the Museum exhibitions is a wonderful example of how our two organizations already work together.

BEHIND THE SCENES

Preserving a Rare Legacy

The Restoration of Victor Arnautoff’s Palo Alto Frescoes
by Nadya Chuprina, Public Art Program Coordinator, City of Palo Alto

Painted in 1932, Modern and Ancient Medicine by Victor Arnautoff is a true local treasure and a rare example of buon (true) fresco in the United States and the only one of its kind in Santa Clara County. For decades, the mural welcomed visitors to the former Palo Alto Clinic, now the Palo Alto Museum. Although Arnautoff used high-quality plaster and pigments, years of public exposure and frequent cleaning—from the 1930s through the 1980s—gradually took a significant toll on the artwork.

Keep reading to learn about the restoration.

Image: Nadya Chuprina, Public Art Program Coordinator with the City of Palo Alto, interprets Arnautoff’s frescoes on the facade of the home of the Palo Alto Museum.

NEXT MONTH

May Fete Parade & Fair

On Saturday, May 2, the whole community will turn out for a beloved Palo Alto tradition: May Fete Parade and Fair. The parade down University Avenue will end right next door to the Museum at Heritage Park. The Kiwanis Club will transform the park into a magical fair with booths, games and prizes for kids, and food trucks. The Museum will be there with fun activities for all ages. This year’s parade theme is Not All Heroes Wear Capes. Be a hero and join us for May Fete!

JOIN US

Support the Museum today

A Museum shaped by, with, and for the community
In 2026, the Palo Alto Museum will bring to life a historic landmark as a vibrant place to discover, connect, and create. Through dynamic exhibits, events, and experiences for all ages, we will learn from our past, strengthen our community today, and inspire a brighter future.

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