The City museum : a concept with multiple interpretations

As early as the second half of the nineteenth century, some major European cities have developed museums to expose their history. This movement has then grown throughout the twentieth century around the world. At the beginning of the third millennium, the phenomenon is more relevant than ever, as evidenced by numerous projects of creation and renovation of such institutions.
Nevertheless, it took a long time before that kind of museums began to be considered as part of a specific museum category, with its own characteristics and challenges. It is only in 1993, at the Museum of London, that representatives of museums devoted to the study of cities met for the very first time, in order “to discuss [their] problems, to develop theories and to promote [their] special place in the museum movement worldwide” (HEBDITCH Max, “Key-note address”, in JOHNSON Nichola (ed.), Reflecting cities, London, 1993, p. 1). The expression “city museum” took shape for this occasion, with the creation at the end of the symposium of a first International Association of City Museums, followed subsequently by other organizations.
The purpose of this presentation is to provide an overview of the multiple interpretations and meanings attached to the quite recent concept of “city museum”, examined through its different uses and definitions within the museological literature. The analysis of these speeches will highlight the fact that there are no unanimously established uses of the expression among the specialists. It will also show that, as a museum category, city museum is an object whose identity is still under construction.