This fall, the Jewish Museum at 1109 Fifth Avenue, near 92nd Street, will undergo a significant renovation. The museum’s third and fourth floors will be transformed into educational spaces aimed at better narrating the history of the Jewish people.
According to an official press release, the two gallery floors will “tell stories that foster a more holistic vision, integrating education fully into the visitor experience.”
Under the guidance of design consultants from UNStudio, planned changes include expanding the fourth floor, creating a new welcome area for both schools and the general public, showcasing over 150 Hanukkah lamps from the museum’s collection, adding more gallery space, and introducing new installations. These updates are intended to reflect the global Jewish experience from ancient times to contemporary engagement.
The museum, the first of its kind in the United States and the oldest existing Jewish museum globally, houses the largest collection of Jewish art worldwide (excluding Israel). This collection originated in 1904 at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, a local conservative education institution. In 1947, the Seminary acquired the building from the widow of Felix M. Warburg, a German-American Jewish financier, and began displaying its extensive collection of 30,000 objects.
With these renovations, the Jewish Museum aims to better showcase its invaluable collection and reinforce its significance within New York City’s cultural landscape—an effort we will gladly get behind.
