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Beyond the museums: the vision and drive of Harry Guggenheim

If you want to visit the Guggenheim Museum, you have five choices. There are Guggenheims in New York, Venice, Abu Dhabi, Bilbao, and Berlin, all seeded with money from the Guggenheim family.

Several generations made the money and spread it around, but it was Harry Guggenheim (1890-1971) who really put the family name and money out there. There was little limit to his interests and his willingness to boost them, including aviation and space exploration.

Veteran journalist Dirk Smillie tells the story in his book The Business of Tomorrow: The Visionary Life of Harry Guggenheim: From Aviation and Rocketry to the Creation of an Art Dynasty. Was he the Elon Musk of his time, or is Musk the Harry Guggenheim of today? Listen and decide.

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The Jefferson Exchange is Jefferson Public Radio's daily talk show focused on news and interests across our region of Southern Oregon and Northern California. Angela Decker is the senior producer, Charlie Zimmermann is the assistant producer, and Geoffrey Riley hosts the show.