WASHINGTON — It seemed to take forever for Dorothy to dance down the Yellow Brick Road, but the road to raise money to make her iconic slippers shine again has been covered in cash.
The Smithsonian Institution has raised close to $250,000 of its $300,000 goal in the first few days of a public fundraising campaign on Kickstarter to restore and preserve the iconic heels featured in the 1939 film the Wizard of Oz.
The donations so far have ranged from $1 to $10,000.
The almost 80-year-old pair of heels have endured significant wear and tear since their debut. The National Museum of American History has housed the slippers for the past 40 years.
“They’ve suffered a little from the light and humidity and temperature fluctuations that happen with any costume pieces on display in the museum,” said Smithsonian curatorial assistant Ryan Lintelman. “So what we want to do is make sure we can do the conservation work necessary to keep them ruby for years to come.”
TRENDING STORIES:
- Lead detective takes the stand in the hot car death trial
- US Marshal hit by car in southwest Atlanta
- Driver helps students escape charter bus fire
The objects conservator said that protecting the shoes is a meticulous process, particularly because the shoes are made up of over 12 different materials. The top of the shoes have loose threads and sequins making it one of the toughest challenges. The conservation team has to be very careful to avoid causing any further damage.
A portion of the donations will go toward research and conservation.
The bulk of the money raised will go to build a special state-of-the-art display case that will regulate the humidity, temperature, lights and oxygen levels to preserve the shoe.
“They’ve lived a rich history over the past 80 years and we don’t want to get rid of any of that,” objects conservator Dawn Wallace said. “We just want to sustain them right now.”
The Museum of American History welcomes close to 5 million visitors per year.
Out of all of the museum’s artifacts, the slippers are the most asked about item.
“There are several different pairs of these slippers around the world but ours are the only ones owned by the American people,” Lintelman said.
The slippers will be displayed in a new exhibit in 2018 along with some other artifacts from classic Hollywood films.
The Smithsonian is promoting the campaign on social media using the hashtag keep them ruby.
Cox Media Group
