For those in Washington, DC, there are plans to open a spy museum by the spring of next year. Malrite Co. intends to open the International Spy Museum, which it calls "the largest permanent exhibit dedicated to the history of espionage." The museum will be located at Eighth and F Street NW.

The museum will charge around $8 per person and expects to attract around 500,000 people a year. It will also include a themed restaurant and cafe, a spy-stuff store, and a role-playing game called "Spy Adventure."

Malrite isn't saying what will be exhibited at the museum other than an original Enigma code machine. As an aside, I just hope they learned a lesson from Bletchley Park's mishap with their stolen Enigma machine.

Some of the items on display will be on loan from H. Keith Melton, a collector of espionage tools. Melton is also a historian and technical advisor to the museum. For those who may be unaware, Melton is also the author of The Ultimate Spy Book which contains pictures and information on various tools used for espionage. Of interest to numbers enthusiasts, the book contains pictures of suitcase radios and one-time pads.

There are at least two other spy museums in America, but you and I are unlikely to visit them. One is H. Keith Melton's personal collection, which is viewed by invitation only. The other is a small museum at CIA headquarters, but unless you're a CIA employee or have connections, you're, shall I say, left out in the cold.

Milton Maltz, the founder of Malrite, had the idea to build the museum four years ago. Maltz had been involved in developing Cleveland's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and wanted to build another specialty museum. Maltz, who was a former codebreaker with the NSA, came up with the idea after gathering designers and finance people to come up with an idea for a new museum. Once they had the idea, the next step was to decide where to locate it. It was thought that London, Berlin, or Moscow would be natural places to locate a spy museum, but each location presented a different problem. The next choice was Washington DC.

Personally, I think a museum dedicated to those who worked behind the scenes to make the world the way it is an excellent idea that's long overdue. I think the public needs to see what real spies do on a daily basis, as opposed to the James Bond image that we all have when it comes to spying. I for one hope to visit this museum some day.