(AGENPARL) – lun 13 novembre 2023 NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY ANNOUNCES
DETAILS OF ITS NEW DEMOCRACY WING AS CONSTRUCTION BEGINS
New York, NY, November 13, 2023—Louise Mirrer, president and CEO of the New-York Historical Society, shared new details today about the Museum’s nearly 80,000-square-foot expansion and renovation project [https://www.nyhistory.org/campaign-future-of-history] as construction commences. New York’s first museum and one of the earliest cultural institutions in the United States, New-York Historical will open a new “Democracy Wing” in 2026, timed to the celebration of the United States of America’s 250th anniversary. Designed by architecture firm Robert A.M. Stern Architects (RAMSA) and unanimously approved and highly praised by the Landmarks Preservation Commission for its respect for the past and solicitation of community input, the five-story structure will complete the institution’s complex on Central Park West.
The addition and renovation will provide New-York Historical with expanded space for educational programs and much-needed storage to preserve and make available irreplaceable materials about American democracy, as well as a new exhibition gallery, courtyard, and rooftop garden terraces (the latter with a view of Central Park). The top floor of the new wing will give New-York Historical the opportunity to provide the first-ever home for the American LGBTQ+ Museum, a partner institution dedicated to freedom and equity.
“As construction begins on our new wing, we are fulfilling a vision set into motion in 1937 by the Trustees of New-York Historical Society, who had the foresight to purchase the lot adjacent to our building, knowing that our growing collections and evolving programs for scholars, students, educators, and the public would someday need room to expand,” said Dr. Louise Mirrer, New-York Historical’s president and CEO. “As we look ahead, our new wing will serve as a beacon for democracy education, a powerhouse of inclusive history, and a home for history enthusiasts of all backgrounds and perspectives. We look forward to seeing Robert A. M. Stern Architects’ design, which was crafted with extraordinary skill and sensitivity, come to realization.”
“Over the past four years, our partnership with New-York Historical has grown stronger and as we enter into this next phase of the building project together, we are hopeful and inspired for the years ahead when the American LGBTQ+ Museum will finally have a home,” said Ben Garcia, the American LBGTQ+ Museum’s executive director. “We look forward to further shining a light on our evolving histories in our own voices, as we envision a world in which all people work toward and experience the joy of liberation.”
“It’s a privilege to work with the New-York Historical Society on this expansion of its landmark building, enabling it to extend its broad and vital mission to a growing audience that ranges from local schoolchildren to international visitors,” said Robert A.M. Stern, founder and senior partner of Robert A.M. Stern Architects. “With input from engaged and supportive neighbors and in response to the historic neighboring townhouses, the design of the expansion is sympathetic to the palette and rhythm of the 1908 building and its 1938 additions.” Leading the design team along with Mr. Stern are RAMSA Partners Graham S. Wyatt and Preston J. Gumberich and Associate Partner Kim S. Yap.
Highlights of the Democracy Wing include:
Located on the second floor, the Tang Academy for American Democracy [https://www.nyhistory.org/education/academy-american-democracy] will provide dedicated space for New-York Historical’s award-winning educational initiative, in which sixth graders spend four full days on-site at the Museum participating in a program that addresses critical knowledge gaps in the learning of American history. The expansion will allow New-York Historical to increase the number of students served from 3,000 to 30,000 annually. The Tang Academy will consist of two classrooms, including the Geoffrey and Sarah Gund Democracy Classroom.The Dorothy Tapper Goldman Center for Teaching Democracy will be a crucial space where teachers can come together with scholars and museum professionals for in-depth explorations of history, political theory, and engaging pedagogy.A new exhibition hall, the Klingenstein Family Gallery will showcase monumental works of art.The Stuart and Jane Weitzman Shoe Museum will house the permanent exhibition Walk This Way: Footwear from the Stuart Weitzman Collection of Historic Shoes. The exhibition will serve as a gateway to the new wing, with a dramatic display of 150 pairs of historic shoes revealing the evolution of women’s footwear over two centuries in parallel with changes in women’s lives.A conservation studio for painting and paper will be a state-of-the-art facility to conserve and protect paintings and historically significant documents. The studio is designed to provide natural light, advanced ventilation, and workspace for New-York Historical’s leading in-house conservation team, consulting specialists, and conservators-in-training.New-York Historical’s Patricia D. Klingenstein Library holds more than 10 million items, including rare copies of our nation’s foundational documents. A renovated, state-of-the-art library stack storage tower will allow for the rehousing of a substantial part of the collections, now offsite, back to Central Park West.The American LGBTQ+ Museum’s new home in the Democracy Wing will include two galleries and access to the roof garden. This partnership will mark the arrival of a new museum of American history, dedicated to the lives and contributions of LGBTQ+ Americans.A courtyard garden terraceA roof garden terraceThe facade of the new wing will be constructed of granite from Deer Isle, Maine—excavated from the same quarry that provided the stone of New-York Historical’s existing building 114 years ago, creating a seamless transition from the existing building to the new.
While the Democracy Wing is under construction, the American LGBTQ+ Museum will partner with New-York Historical to develop programming in the Museum’s existing building and outdoor spaces, bringing the voices, perspectives, actions, and achievements of this community to the foreground for hundreds of thousands of annual visitors and New York City schoolchildren.
New galleries and collections study areas will also host graduate students from New-York Historical’s Master of Arts in Museum Studies program, launched in 2019 through a partnership with CUNY’s School of Professional Studies. The program aims to diversify New York City’s cultural workforce, providing students with the knowledge, skills, and preparation to excel as professionals in the museum community.
Construction on the new wing is set to begin in November 2023.
Support
This capital project is made possible by the generous support of many individuals, including major contributions by (to date) William Ackman, Neri Oxman, and the Pershing Square Foundation; Dr. H.M. Agnes Hsu-Tang and Oscar Tang; the Dorothy Tapper Goldman Foundation; Patricia D. Klingenstein and the Klingenstein Family; Jean Margo Reid; Ann and Andrew Tisch; Anonymous; Helen and Robert Appel; Sarah and Geoffrey Gund; Sid and Ruth Lapidus; Bonnie and Richard Reiss; the Reiss Family Foundation; Jane and Stuart Weitzman; Byron and Anita Wien, and many others. Public support for this project is provided, in part, by the City of New York, including the NYC Mayor’s Office, the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York City Council, and the Office of the Manhattan Borough President, with additional public support provided by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, the New York Congressional Delegation, and Market New York through I LOVE NY/New York State’s Division of Tourism as part of the Regional Economic Development Council initiative. We are grateful to members Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, Council Members Erik Bottcher and Gale Brewer, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, Mayor Eric Adams, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul, New York State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, US Senator Chuck Schumer, US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, US Representative Jerry Nadler, and all involved in the process to provide this new space for democracy education.
About the New-York Historical Society
Experience 400 years of history through groundbreaking exhibitions, immersive films, and thought-provoking conversations among renowned historians and public figures at the New-York Historical Society, New York’s first museum. A great destination for history since 1804, the Museum and the Patricia D. Klingenstein Library convey the stories of the city and nation’s diverse populations, expanding our understanding of who we are as Americans and how we came to be. Ever-rising to the challenge of bringing little or unknown histories to light, New-York Historical will soon inaugurate a new wing housing its Tang Academy for American Democracy as well as the American LGBTQ+ Museum. These latest efforts to help forge the future by documenting the past join New-York Historical’s DiMenna Children’s History Museum and Center for Women’s History. Digital exhibitions, apps, and our For the Ages podcast make it possible for visitors everywhere to dive more deeply into history. Connect with us at nyhistory.org [https://www.nyhistory.org/] or at @nyhistory on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/nyhistory/], Twitter [https://twitter.com/NYHistory], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/nyhistory/], TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@nyhistory], YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/user/nyhistory], and Tumblr [https://nyhistory.tumblr.com/].
About the American LGBTQ+ Museum
The American LGBTQ+ Museum preserves, investigates, and celebrates the dynamic histories and cultures of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people, as well as those of the emergent and adjacent identities among our communities. Using exhibitions and programs, we seek to advance LGBTQ+ equality through the lens of social justice movements, including, but not limited to, race, gender, class, immigration, and disability. We envision a world in which all people work toward and experience the joy of liberation. We believe the time has come to tell the story of LGBTQ+ people, commemorate and celebrate our journey, and inspire pride. Our mission is to preserve, investigate, and celebrate the dynamic histories and cultures of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people, and to advance LGBTQ+ equality through our exhibitions and programming. To learn more, visit thelgbtqplusmuseum.org [https://thelgbtqplusmuseum.org/about/].
Image Caption/Credit: The New-York Historical Society new wing and renovation by Robert A.M. Stern Architects as viewed from 76th Street. Image courtesy of Alden Studios for Robert A.M. Stern Architects.
Press Contacts
Marybeth Ihle
New-York Historical Society
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