The New-York Historical Society will be extended by Robert A M Stern Architects to create a permanent home for The American LGBTQ+ Museum.
New York City's oldest museum will gain 70,000 square feet of classroom, gallery and library space that it will share with the city's first museum dedicated to LGBTQ+ history and culture.
Robert A M Stern Architects (RAMSA) received unanimous approval from the Landmarks Preservation Commission for its plans for the building at 170 Central Park West.
"It's been a privilege to work with the New-York Historical Society to design an 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 studio founder Robert A M Stern. "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."
The majority of construction will occur at the rear of the building, along West 76th Street. The first phase involves creating below-ground spaces for the Patricia D Klingenstein Library, which contains rare copies of America's foundational documents.
RAMSA's planned expansion of New-York Historical Society as seen from West 76th Street (above) and Central Park West (top)
These are currently housed off-site and will require state-of-the-art storage in order to be prese...