2 cols

Nighttime rendering of the new National Museum of American Jewish History on Independence Mall in Philadelphia. Image ©Polshek Partnership Architects.

2 cols.

Torah Ark carving, 1918, painted wood. Collection of National Museum of American Jewish History, Philadelphia. Gift of Congregation Shaare Eli. —Will Brown photo

FOR 10/19

NMAJH BREAKS GROUND ON NEW HOME INDEPENDENCE MALL w/2 cuts

ak/gs set 10/11 #715440

PHILADELPHIA, PENN. — The bells rang at Independence Hall, the Philadelphia Boys Choir sang “God Bless America,” three shofars, the traditional Jewish instrument made of rams’ horns, sounded from three locations on Independence Mall and students from area Jewish day schools recited a traditional Jewish blessing as the National Museum of American Jewish History (NMAJH) held the ceremonial groundbreaking for its new building on Independence Mall, at 5th and Market Streets.

Joining in the celebration were dignitaries including US Senator Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell and Philadelphia Mayor John Street, along with trustees, donors, scholars, educators, religious leaders, young people and well-wishers, taking part in the groundbreaking for a new building scheduled to open to the public July 4, 2010. NMAJH opened its doors a half block away during the US Bicentennial in 1976. When completed, the new 100,000-square-foot, six-story building, designed by Polshek Partnership Architects, will stand directly across from the Liberty Bell, two blocks south of the National Constitution Center, and one block north of the birthplace of American liberty, Independence Hall.

The NMAJH design is a composition of two interlocking volumes. Facing Independence Mall, a glass prism expresses the accessibility of the museum and the openness of America, as well as the perennial fragility of democracy. A beacon, located within the uppermost corner of the glass enclosure, evokes the torch of the Statue of Liberty. A terra cotta volume, expressing the strength of Jewish survival and the protective shelter of American freedom, fronts Market Street and houses the museum’s collections and principal exhibition spaces.

An 85-foot-high, light-filled atrium connects the entry level to the education center and auditorium below and to the exhibition floors above. Across this void are bridges linking the glazed and terra cotta volumes.

The core exhibition, tracing the lives of American Jews from 1654 to the present, will encompass some 25,000 square feet of gallery space on three floors. An additional 5,000 square feet of gallery space is provided for changing exhibitions. The ground floor will feature an evolving multimedia exhibition, titled “Only in America/The Hall of Fame gallery,” highlighting the accomplishments of many Jewish Americans.

The exhibitions will draw on the museum’s permanent collection that date from the Colonial period to the present day. The collection includes Eighteenth Century ritual and domestic silver; ritual objects and embroidered textiles carried to America by Nineteenth Century Jewish immigrants; original drawings, modern prints, paintings and sculptures that illustrate the American Jewish experience; rare books, posters and other printed materials; photographs, scrapbooks, illuminated certificates, and a variety of manuscript materials including poetry, letters, diaries and personal memoirs.

The museum envisions its new home as a place that welcomes all people, inviting them to discover what they have in common with the Jewish experience in America, and to explore the features that make this history distinctive.

For information, 215-923-3811 or www.nmajh.org.