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Ribbon Cutting: El Museo del Barrio

October 17, 2009

Commissioner Burney, other City officials and civic leaders kicked off the 40th Anniversary celebration and reopening of El Museo del Barrio on October 17. The renovated museum features a new glass façade, a redesigned 4,500-square-foot courtyard, modernized galleries, as well as a new café space and an expanded gift shop. The award-winning design by Gruzen Samton Architects also features a structural light pylon on Fifth Avenue that supports the graphics banner, a new metal canopy that wraps around the courtyard, a new glass-enclosed link enhancing circulation and operation of the museum’s public spaces, and additional state of the art audio-visual, climate control, and security systems.

"With this renovation, including its innovative designs by Gruzen Samton for the renovated courtyard and façade and the new Carmen Ana Unanue Galleries, El Museo will continue to attract thousands of visitors from around the world," said Commissioner Burney.