Please Note: This tour has updated timing (originally publicized as 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on March 23, 2024).
Join Bill Keene, a lecturer in history, urban studies, and architecture, for a day that spotlights architect Frank Gehry’s designs for the recent renovation of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Begin with a brief visit to the Gehry-designed Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial, the National Mall’s newest addition. En route to Philadelphia, Keene offers an overview of Gehry’s career and the backstory of the museum’s controversial remodeling—a project that spanned 21 years from announcement to opening and is set to encompass additional work as funds become available. At the museum, a staff-led architectural tour brings you into some of the most dramatic of the reimagined spaces that blend past and present.
From his earliest work, Gehry demonstrated his reaction against cold, formulistic Modernism by using the common materials of metal, wood, and stone in new and sometimes startling combinations. He brought a very different vision to the interior of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Inspired by the character of the historic 1928 building, Gehry’s renovations opened the interior with soaring public spaces and dramatic vistas, incorporating additional room for art and providing easier navigation while honoring the architecture and original materials.
Nearly 90,000 square feet of space was repurposed in the main building, with a focus on the lower two levels. The project included rebuilding the West Terrace with integrated ramps to facilitate access for all visitors; renovating Lenfest Hall, the principal entrance; creating a new public space, the Williams Forum, which connects the ground floor to the upper levels and serves as the setting for a wide range of activities; and reopening the Vaulted Walkway, a 640-foot-long corridor that spans the width of the building and had not been open to the public for nearly 50 years.
The afternoon offers plenty of time to explore the museum’s galleries before returning to Washington.
Know Before You Go
- The tour departs by motorcoach from downtown Washington, DC. Content delivered by the study leader on the way to the destination is an integral part of the study tour experience. Meeting the group once the tour is en route is discouraged.
- Tour participants meet at and leave by bus from the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial, corner of Independence Ave. & 6th St., SW. No fringe pickup due to tour route.
General Information
- Update: Registration for this tour will end by 2 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 21, 2024.
- Smithsonian Associates is a mask-friendly environment. Please feel free to bring and wear a mask at any time during a tour, both for your safety or the safety of others.
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