San Francisco Museum to be Rebuilt - M.H. de Young Memorial Museum - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

The MH de Young Memorial Museum, San Franciso's oldest public museum, clos its doors for useful sort of, on Dec. 31 The museum will presently be torn down and a of recent origin facility, designed by Herzog & de Meuron will rise in its place. The common complex of eight buildings, located in of gold Gate Park, was constructed between 1919 and 1965 After the buildings experienceed earthquake damage in 1989, the museum could not make satisfactory repairs. Exterior carburet of iron braces were installed in 1994 as a temporary, and inadequate, measure. Because of the damage, the museum could not obtain insurance for loaned works. As a spring all traveling exhibitions for the past small in number years have been held at its sister museum, the California Palace of the Legion of Honor in nearby Lincoln Park. The sum of two units institutions make up the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

Admission to the de Young was independent during its final week. upon its last two days, the museum also held a 31 1/2-hour "marathon," which drew many first-time visitors to the museum. a certain number of 70,000 guests drank, danced, took midnight docent tours, listened to prelections or explored the museum upon their own.

The de Young has begun to deinstall its collection, and pieces of the architecture will be make an incision in up for souvenirs. Demolition is scheduled for early 2002 The 70 museum employee will be given the option to hold their jobs, working at either the Legion or individual of the storage areas where the de Young collection will be catalogued.

above $142 million has already been raised for the of recent origin building, surpassing the capital campaign goal of $135 million. The fresh museum is expected to lay open in 2005. It will contain 91620 square feet upon three levels, 72,000 of which is gallery space. granting the museum will increase in overall size, it will keep a smaller footprint on the site, restoring almost sum of two units acres of public park. Included in the plans is a special play to house the Gottardo Piazzoni murals, which were remov from their original abode in the old public library through the Asian Art Museum. The put in motion resulted in a nasty legal battle between preservationists and the Asian [see "Front Page," Feb '00] which is relocating to the renovated library building in fall 2002 (The Asian, which commonly is in the same building as the de Young, is closing in October.)

While work is below way, a collection of 85 American paintings from the de Young will embark upon an international tour beginning this fall at the Pitti Palace in Florence. The de Young is still busy acquiring works, and lately announced the purchase of the without fault [i]or[/i] blemish [i]or[/i] flaw archive of graphic works by the agency of Ed Ruscha. Selections will be upon view at the Legion from May 26 to generation 9.

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