New wing of U-M's Kelsey Museum opens in Ann Arbor

Wednesday, November 4, 2009 | Source: Concentrate

The Kelsey Museum at the University of Michigan is reopening this week, bigger and better than ever before - thanks to a significant expansion.

The 1888 building received a new 20,000-square foot wing as part of a $8.5 million gift to the museum. That wing will now make it possibly to house all of the 100,000-plus artifacts and increase the display number to 200-300 artifacts.

The building, 434 S. State St., started out as the home to the local chapter of what eventually became the YMCA. The university bought it in the mid 1920s and opened it as the Kelsey Museum in 1929. It renovated the museum in the mid 1990s and this is the first expansion of the original building.

The Romanesque-style structure is one of the marquee buildings on the State Street corridor, and even in the city. The expansion is made from a local field stone that is similar to the original stone. The idea is to make it blend with the look of the building to be able to distinguish the new wing from the original structure.

"They did match quite well," says Lauren Talalay, associate director and curator of the Kelsey Museum. "When they weather it will match very well."

The interior is much more contemporary. It houses a number of displays, which are still being worked on, and frees up more much-needed open space in the building.

"It's a totally different look on the inside," Talalay says.

Source: Lauren Talalay, associate director and curator of the Kelsey Museum
Writer: Jon Zemke