Museum of Fine Arts expansion

The Museum of Fine Arts is a wonderful museum located at Straub Park. The addition will depart from the museum's classic Palladian style with a two-story trapezoid glass conservatory connecting the new building. There will be more galleries, a larger gift shop, and a cafe with views of the downtown Saint Petersburg waterfront. The wing, to be named for Hazel Hough, should be finished in time for a new exhibition in early 2009. The architect is Yann Weymouth of Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum. The new wing will allow much more of the museum's permanent collection to be displayed.

The museum will not close during construction. The last exhibition prior to construction will be paintings from the Medici collection in Florence, Italy. The first new show after construction will be Durer exhibit from Germany.