The Walmart Museum on the Bentonville Square. Some of its exhibits will temporarily move Nov. 1 to the nearby Ledger building while the retailer renovates the property.
Walmart Inc. of Bentonville said Friday that it will temporarily close its museum and café on the city square to renovate the property, creating more exhibit space and adding accessibility features.
The project, characterized as an “extensive renovation,” is expected to last through the spring of 2024. In the meantime, the museum will temporarily move to The Ledger, a new 230,000-SF six-story building at 240 S. Main St. nearby.
The museum’s temporary, 4,000-SF home at The Ledger will open on Nov. 1, according to a company blog post.
“We’re excited about the changes coming to the renovated — and reinvented — Walmart Museum, making it more inclusive, accessible and interactive,” wrote Cindi Marsiglio, Walmart’s senior vice president of corporate real estate.
“With larger exhibit space, new educational spaces and an enhanced rooftop patio, we look forward to leveraging this new space to evolve the way of telling the Walmart story.”
The company did not disclose financial details of the expansion.
The museum opened in 1990 in the former Walton’s 5&10 store and the adjacent Terry Block building. It was last renovated over two years ending in 2011. Museum exhibits include Walmart founder Sam Walton’s Ford pickup, his Presidential Medal Freedom and his office.
A Walmart spokeswoman said that the museum would attract about 400,000 visitors per year before the pandemic. The museum closed for seven months amid the pandemic in 2020. Walmart said it expects to report more than 220,000 visitors in 2022.
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