NEW YORK.-Park Avenue Armory announced today that it has received a $35 million gift from its Board Chairman Wade F.B. Thompson—one of the largest gifts ever made to a New York cultural institution and the largest private gift given for the renovation of a historic site in the United States . Thompson founded the Seventh Regiment Armory Conservancy in 1993 with the goal of renovating and revitalizing the neglected building by drawing upon its unique potential to serve as an institution dedicated to the visual and performing arts.

This unprecedented gift brings the capital campaign to the halfway mark of its $200 million goal. In honor of the gift, Park Avenue Armory will name its monumental Drill Hall, “Wade Thompson Hall.”

“Wade has been steadfastly focused on the revitalization of the Armory,” said Rebecca Robertson, President and CEO of the Park Avenue Armory. “His breathtaking gift exemplifies his love for the legacy of New York City and helps ensure the Armory can play an enduring role in its continuing cultural vibrancy.”

“I take great pleasure in helping make progress toward realizing our long-term vision for revitalizing the Park Avenue Armory,” said Thompson. “Already, the Armory is developing projects that are only possible in this matchless space. Our goal is to create a world class center for the arts, thus enabling it to make a dynamic contribution to the life of the city, rather than simply preserve it as an artifact frozen in time.”

A series of projects to restore, renovate, and upgrade the Armory have been completed or are underway since the Conservancy was granted stewardship of the building in December 2006. Concurrently, the Armory is emerging as a collaborative partner for programs which would otherwise not be possible in traditional art and performance venues, or other New York institutions. Aaron Young’s recent project, Greeting Card, a 9,216-square-foot painting created by the burned out tire marks of twelve motorcyclists, was performed and exhibited in the Drill Hall in September. In March 2008, the Park Avenue Armory is collaborating with the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Art Production Fund to host large-scale artworks, performances, and installations as part of the Whitney Biennial. In association with Lincoln Center Festival 2008, the Armory will present an epic production of the opera, Die Soldaten, with the vast space in the Drill Hall enabling it to be staged as it was originally conceived by the composer. A retrospective exhibition about the wide range of events at the Armory is currently on view in one of the historic period rooms. The Armory will also continue to be a home for major national and international art and antique fairs.

Despite the major significance of the building’s interiors by Louis Comfort Tiffany, Stanford White, and others, the building had been deteriorating for decades. The impetus to save it came in 1993, when Mr. Thompson looked out of his apartment window facing the neglected building, and decided that it needed to be rescued. He enlisted the Municipal Art Society and concerned citizens to assist in what became a 13-year struggle. Today, the Conservancy has a 99-year lease for the management of the Armory. Funding for operation, maintenance, restoration, and renovation comes from a variety of sources including the City of New York , the State of New York , private donors, and revenue from the art and antique fairs.

In addition to his role as Chairman of the Conservancy, Mr. Thompson is also a trustee of the Municipal Art Society and Mystic Seaport Museum in Connecticut . A three-time cancer survivor, Thompson has championed the work of the Cancer Research Institute and is funding immunological research in prostate, melanoma, and colon cancers. He founded The Drive Against Prostate Cancer: two mobile medical vehicles that travel coast-to-coast offering free prostate cancer screenings. To date, over 70,000 men have been screened and an estimated 3,000 lives saved due to early detection. In 2007, Mr. Thompson received the Cancer Research Institute’s Oliver R. Grace Award for Distinguished Service in Advancing Cancer Research. On December 10, 2007, he and his good friend Elihu Rose, Vice-Chairman of the Conservancy, will receive the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Medal from the Municipal Art Society for their work with the Park Avenue Armory. Thompson is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Thor Industries, Inc., the world’s largest manufacturer of recreation vehicles and a major builder of buses.