The craft museum was in competition with two other plans.
"I had a concept of what we would do at the craft museum," he said.
"There was no other craft museum in the United States."
Because it is the leading craft museum in the country, the change garnered notice.
It is the only craft museum in the New England area.
In the case of the craft museums and the college, all arrived at their new names for their own reasons.
The newest works on display look very different from those presented in his last major show at the crafts museum, in 1979.
About half the works from this collection were donated in the 1970's to the American Craft Museum.
The new craft museum will have more than three times the space of the current one, which also specializes in decorative arts, architecture and interior design.
"The craft museum is a terrible waste of a great site," Mr. Trump said.