NEW YORK, NY.- Louise Mirrer, president and CEO of the New-York Historical Society, shared new details today about the Museum’s nearly 80,000-square-foot expansion and renovation project as construction commences. New York’s first museum and one of the earliest cultural institutions in the United States, New-York Historical will open a new “Democracy Wing” in 2026, timed to the celebration of the United States of America’s 250th anniversary. Designed by architecture firm Robert A.M. Stern Architects (RAMSA) and unanimously approved and highly praised by the Landmarks Preservation Commission for its respect for the past and solicitation of community input, the five-story structure will complete the institution’s complex on Central Park West.

The addition and renovation will provide New-York Historical with expanded space for educational programs and much-needed storage to preserve and make available irreplaceable materials about American democracy, as well as a new exhibition gallery, courtyard, and rooftop garden terraces (the latter with a view of Central Park). The top floor of the new wing will give New-York Historical the opportunity to provide the first-ever home for the American LGBTQ+ Museum, a partner institution dedicated to freedom and equity.

“As construction begins on our new wing, we are fulfilling a vision set into motion in 1937 by the Trustees of New-York Historical Society, who had the foresight to purchase the lot adjacent to our building, knowing that our growing collections and evolving programs for scholars, students, educators, and the public would someday need room to expand,” said Dr. Louise Mirrer, New-York Historical’s president and CEO. “As we look ahead, our new wing will serve as a beacon for democracy education, a powerhouse of inclusive history, and a home for history enthusiasts of all backgrounds and perspectives. We look forward to seeing Robert A. M. Stern Architects’ design, which was crafted with extraordinary skill and sensitivity, come to realization.”

“Over the past four years, our partnership with New-York Historical has grown stronger and as we enter into this next phase of the building project together, we are hopeful and inspired for the years ahead when the American LGBTQ+ Museum will finally have a home,” said Ben Garcia, the American LBGTQ+ Museum’s executive director. “We look forward to further shining a light on our evolving histories in our own voices, as we envision a world in which all people work toward and experience the joy of liberation.”

“It’s a privilege to work with the New-York Historical Society on this expansion of its landmark building, enabling it to extend its broad and vital mission to a growing audience that ranges from local schoolchildren to international visitors,” said Robert A.M. Stern, founder and senior partner of Robert A.M. Stern Architects. “With input from engaged and supportive neighbors and in response to the historic neighboring townhouses, the design of the expansion is sympathetic to the palette and rhythm of the 1908 building and its 1938 additions.” Leading the design team along with Mr. Stern are RAMSA Partners Graham S. Wyatt and Preston J. Gumberich and Associate Partner Kim S. Yap.

Highlights of the Democracy Wing include:

• Located on the second floor, the Tang Academy for American Democracy will provide dedicated space for New-York Historical’s award-winning educational initiative, in which sixth graders spend four full days on-site at the Museum participating in a program that addresses critical knowledge gaps in the learning of American history. The expansion will allow New-York Historical to increase the number of students served from 3,000 to 30,000 annually. The Tang Academy will consist of two classrooms, including the Geoffrey and Sarah Gund Democracy Classroom.

• The Dorothy Tapper Goldman Center for Teaching Democracy will be a crucial space where teachers can come together with scholars and museum professionals for in-depth explorations of history, political theory, and engaging pedagogy.

• A new exhibition hall, the Klingenstein Family Gallery will showcase monumental works of art.




• The Stuart and Jane Weitzman Shoe Museum will house the permanent exhibition Walk This Way: Footwear from the Stuart Weitzman Collection of Historic Shoes. The exhibition will serve as a gateway to the new wing, with a dramatic display of 150 pairs of historic shoes revealing the evolution of women’s footwear over two centuries in parallel with changes in women’s lives.

• A conservation studio for painting and paper will be a state-of-the-art facility to conserve and protect paintings and historically significant documents. The studio is designed to provide natural light, advanced ventilation, and workspace for New-York Historical’s leading in-house conservation team, consulting specialists, and conservators-in-training.

• New-York Historical’s Patricia D. Klingenstein Library holds more than 10 million items, including rare copies of our nation’s foundational documents. A renovated, state-of-the-art library stack storage tower will allow for the rehousing of a substantial part of the collections, now offsite, back to Central Park West.

• The American LGBTQ+ Museum’s new home in the Democracy Wing will include two galleries and access to the roof garden. This partnership will mark the arrival of a new museum of American history, dedicated to the lives and contributions of LGBTQ+ Americans.

• A courtyard garden terrace

• A roof garden terrace

• The facade of the new wing will be constructed of granite from Deer Isle, Maine—excavated from the same quarry that provided the stone of New-York Historical’s existing building 114 years ago, creating a seamless transition from the existing building to the new.

While the Democracy Wing is under construction, the American LGBTQ+ Museum will partner with New-York Historical to develop programming in the Museum’s existing building and outdoor spaces, bringing the voices, perspectives, actions, and achievements of this community to the foreground for hundreds of thousands of annual visitors and New York City schoolchildren.

New galleries and collections study areas will also host graduate students from New-York Historical’s Master of Arts in Museum Studies program, launched in 2019 through a partnership with CUNY’s School of Professional Studies. The program aims to diversify New York City’s cultural workforce, providing students with the knowledge, skills, and preparation to excel as professionals in the museum community.

Construction on the new wing is set to begin in November 2023.