In the mid-1990s Coral Gables Commissioner Wayne "Chip" Withers began conversations regarding the possibility of integrating a new museum into the City of Coral Gables. From initial living room chats with a group of artists, architects and cultural insiders, a dream began to take shape as Withers found that there was substantial interest in the idea. The Coral Gables Community Foundation volunteered as the fiscal agent for initial funds that were pledged for the museum. Eventually the city government as a whole became involved and a plan was formulated to house the museum in the historic 1939 Police and Fire Station. After the police and fire departments vacating the building and moving to their new location in the 1970s, the building was used for city offices that were to be re-located, and the beautiful old structure, deeply in need of restoration, seemed to be the perfect location for the cultural facility.