new Jewish-American museum planned for Philadelphia

from today's Architectural Record news briefs (1/22):

Jewish-American Museum Rising in Philly
January 22, 2008

By Joseph Dennis Kelly

"The Smithsonian-affiliated National Museum for American Jewish History (NMAJH), the nation’s only museum documenting the Jewish-American experience, has assiduously expanded its collection from 40 objects, when it opened in 1976, to more than 20,000. In doing so, it has outgrown the meager 6,000 square feet of exhibition space in its current home, a half-block from the spot on Philadelphia’s Independence Mall where it is constructing a new 100,000-square-foot complex designed by Polshek Partnership. NMAJH hopes that when the $150 million space opens on July 4, 2010, it will be able to expand its programming and quintuple its attendance to 250,000 visitors a year." ...

"The terra cotta volume will house 30,000 square feet of galleries, an education center, and a 200-seat theater, while the glass-clad wing will contain event rooms as well as a series of circulation spaces and staircases. This wing will be crowned by the “Freedom Beacon,” a flame symbolizing Judaism’s 5,000-year history that will be positioned at the top of a 104-foot-tall atrium." ...

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