The Timexpo Museum in Waterbury will close its doors in September.
The announcement came from the TimexGroup, the parent company of Timex and the corporation that operates the musuem.
"The company has cited that low attendance is the chief cause," said Ryan Roth, TimexGroup's deputy general counsel.
The Timexpo opened in 2001 as a musuem that showcased the connections between Waterbury and the earliest iterations of the company now known as Timex.
Attendance at the museum hovered around 8,000 in 2014, according to Timex.
Roth said the closure of the museum does not indicate any future plans for the company in Connecticut.
"Timex has a long history with Connecticut, with the greater Waterbury community. We are a Connecticut company. We’re proud to be a Connecticut company and we’re going to continue to donate employees’ time and company funds towards initiatives to that end," he said.
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The museum has four employees.
The collection of clocks, watches and other timepieces could end up at the nearby Mattatuck Museum. Museum director Bob Burns said he has had a conversation with Timex regarding relocating all or part of the collection to the Waterbury-based museum.
"We initiated the conversation. The Timex story needs to be told. We would love to tell the entire story. We are the history museum for the region and we think some of the collection would make wonderful additions to our museum," Burns said.
Waterbury Mayor Neil O'Leary said he was given advance notice that the museum had hit some hard times.
"We kind of had a feeling it was coming," O'Leary said. "They told us that they were unsure whether they’d be able to continue after this calendar year."
He added that he understood the rationale behind the decision to shutter the doors and windows of the museum.
"At the end of the day we get it, it’s a business decision. It’s one they had to make and so it opens up that building. Now we’ve got that beautiful 14,000 square foot, so hopefully we can bring somebody in to contribute to our taxpayer base," he said.
