Striking $175M Wing At NYC Museum Gets An Opening Date

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — The New York Historical is putting the finishing touches on a $175 million expansion that will dramatically reshape its Central Park West museum campus.

The Tang Wing for American Democracy, which will be a 71,000-square-foot wing, is set to open June 18.

The addition will feature light-filled classrooms, new exhibition galleries, a conservation lab, a landscaped courtyard, and a rooftop terrace overlooking Central Park.

"This transformative new wing embodies The Historical’s mission of illuminating the complexities of the American story and inspiring engagement with the ideas and principles that define it," Louise Mirrer, the president and CEO of New York Historical, said.

The new wing will also house the new Klingenstein Family Gallery, the Stuart and Jane Weitzman Shoe Museum, new archival storage, and the first permanent home of the American LGBTQ+ Museum, which will open in 2027.

Designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects, the new wing will be clad in Deer Isle granite — the same stone used to build the museum’s original landmark structure nearly 120 years ago, the museum said.

Funded through $75 million in public support and $100 million in private donations, the project is one of the institution’s largest in decades, the museum said.

"As we approach the nation’s 250th anniversary, the Tang Wing will serve as both a beacon for civic learning and a space for reflection on the values that continue to shape our democracy."

The wing will allow the museum’s civics program, the Academy for American Democracy, to serve 30,000 sixth graders each year, the museum said.

The expansion will debut with a series of exhibitions tied to the nation’s 250th anniversary, including "Democracy Matters," which will open in the new gallery the day after the wing launches.

New York Historical is located at 170 Central Park West in Manhattan.

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