Location and Brief History
Located close to the Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, and Park Slope neighborhoods of Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Museum began as a part of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences in 1890 under Director Franklin Hooper. It remained under the patronage of the Institute until the 1970s.
The museum opened the gates to its first section in 1897, and the following decades saw the addition of many new wings and facilities. The McKim, Mead, and White architectural firm planned the original Beaux-Arts style design for the building, which was supposed to be the largest single museum structure in the world. The construction company P.J. Carlin broke ground for the building in September 1895, and construction on this design continued until the 1920s. However, only about one-fourth of the original concept could be realized.
In 1986, significant architectural design and construction works were carried out under the Master Plan by Arata Isozaki & Associates and James Stewart Polshek & Partners. This master plan was also recognized as an architectural accomplishment and awarded the "Certificate of Merit" by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1992. In the past two decades, the Brooklyn Museum has welcomed visitors with a redesigned front entrance, a part of a \$63 million project by Polshek Partnership Architects. This project also included a new public plaza on the north side of the building. The museum’s Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art opened in 2007, and it was a one-of-a-kind project at the time. Since 2007, the museum building has undergone major periodic renovations with an upgraded climate control system installed. The latest additions include Kevorkian Gallery Access and Contemporary Art Galleries in 2009, 32,000 square feet of basement renovations in 2010, and the ongoing Great Hall renovations.
