Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History

The National Museum of American Jewish History is a museum in Center City Philadelphia , located on Independence Mall within the Independence National Historical Park . It was founded in 1976, and have been sharing a building with Congregation Mikveh Israel ever since. The Museum is in the process of having a new museum built, very modern looking. The National Museum of American Jewish History is constructing a new 100,000–square-foot, five-story building, designed by Polshek Partnership Architects that will open its doors November, of 2010. The new Museum building will stand directly across from the Liberty Bell, a block south of the National Constitution Center, and one block north of the birthplace of American liberty, Independence Hall. The new building will serve as a cornerstone of the modern-day American Jewish community. The core exhibition of the new Museum will trace the lives of American Jews from 1654 to the present and will encompass some 25,000 square feet of gallery space on three floors. An additional 5,000 square feet of gallery space is provided for changing exhibitions. The ground floor will feature an evolving multimedia exhibition, titled Only in America Gallery/Hall of Fame, which will highlight the accomplishments of many Jewish Americans. Exhibits will explore how Jews created a new home in a free land and will examine how America shaped the lives, communities and livelihoods of its Jewish citizens. Exhibits will also explore how Jews shaped America, using their unprecedented freedom not only to create the largest and most prosperous Jewish community in the world, but also to help make America one of the most successful and vital countries in the world. The exhibition will draw on the Museum’s permanent collection of approximately 20,000 objects whose origins span from the Colonial period to the present day, vividly evoking the diversity of the American Jewish experience. The collection includes 18th-century ritual and domestic silver; ritual objects and embroidered textiles carried to America by 19th-century Jewish immigrants; original drawings, prints, paintings and sculptures that illustrate the American Jewish experience; rare books, posters and other printed materials; photographs, scrapbooks and illuminated certificates; and a variety of manuscript materials, including poetry, letters, diaries and personal memoirs. Leading the committee of scholars who are developing the content of the core exhibition is Dr. Gallagher & Associates of Bethesda, Maryland, is designing the core exhibition. The new building will also allow for expanded programming and activities that are not possible in the current facility. Major spaces will include a Center for Jewish Education that will serve schoolchildren and young adults of every background, the 200-seat Dell Family Theater, an event space overlooking Independence Mall and a gift shop. Michael Rosenzweig, a lawyer and former law professor at the University of Michigan, serves as the museum's President and Chief Executive Officer.¹