The Fresno Metropolitan Museum closed its doors for good Tuesday, its ambitious dreams crushed by unsustainable financial losses.
An anchor in the city's downtown cultural arts district for more than 25 years, the Met had struggled financially since it reopened in November 2008 after a three-year renovation that went far over budget.
Something like the Met "will rise again, but it will be years from now," museum board President Stewart Randall said. "Right now is a bad time for starting any business, including a nonprofit."
But there is a good chance the museum building, former home to The Bee, won't be empty for long. The city of Fresno took title to the building and surrounding property last year after paying off a $15 million defaulted bank loan for the museum.
City Manager Andy Souza said Tuesday a charter school might lease at least two of the building's five floors.
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