Spying Game

The International Spy Museum, the first public museum in the U.S. devoted solely to espionage, will hold its grand opening tonight with a black tie gala in Washington, D.C. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held tomorrow morning, when the museum is open to the public.

FRCH Design Worldwide (Cincinnati) created the design of the museum's retail environment, integrating interactive media, thematic and image elements as an extension of the museum's distinctive experience. “FRCH brought together the museum's immersive environments with state-of-the art audio/visual programs, computer interactives, and other hands-on components,” said spokeswoman Jennifer Adams, “to create a unique museum experience that transports visitors to another time and place within each merchandise exhibit area.”

The museum features the largest collection of international spy related artifacts ever placed on public display. The stories of individual spies, told through film and interactive exhibits, are intended to foster an understanding of espionage and its impact on current and historic events.

The store's 5000 square feet feature merchandise that mirrors the museum's presentation of the tradecraft and history of espionage, as well as the popular interpretations of that profession. There will be more than 500 books, maps and prints; a wide range of spy-related toys and educational products; pop culture merchandise; disguise kits and paraphernalia; spycraft items; exhibit-related products; one-of-a-kind spy collectibles; spy logo and souvenir items.

Organizers say the art form dates back to biblical times, when Moses assigned 12 Israelites to “spy out the land” of Canaan that was promised to them by God. A never-before-seen item is a one-page letter Gen. George Washington wrote in February 1777, offering Nathaniel Sackett, a New York political activist and merchant for the Continental Army, $50 a month to set up a network to obtain “the earliest and best intelligence of the designs of the enemy.”

Former spies who serve on the museum's advisory boards, including former FBI and CIA chief William Webster and retired KGB Gen. Oleg Kalugin, who helped gather more than 1000 spy tools from the U.S. and other countries, including England, East Germany and the Soviet Union. About 600 pieces will be displayed initially.

Some of those include a lipstick pistol used during the Cold War by KGB operatives; a coat with a buttonhole camera used by the KGB; and a tree stump listening device issued by the CIA in the early 1970s. The solar-powered device was stashed in the woods near a Soviet military base to capture secret military radio transmissions.

Other exhibits focus on women spies, World War II espionage and celebrity spies. Among the star spies: chef Julia Child, who processed classified documents for the Office of Strategic Services, the CIA's forerunner, and Oscar-winning director John Ford, who ran the OSS photography unit.