NEW YORK CITY – With the MTA below and MOMA at its side, a new museum, the Museum of American Folk Art, is going to grow. This structure, faced with white bronze (Tombasil), will encompass eight stories, six of which will rise above 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.

"We have come a long way," said Gerald Wertkin, director of the Museum of American Folk Art at the ground breaking ceremony on Wednesday, October 13. The Museum actually received its charter on June 23, 1961, and at that time had no money, no building, and no collection. He went on to say that three decades ago, in the fall of 1969, he visited the museum at 53rd Street to take in an exhibition called "The Shaker Order of Christmas" which was organized by Mary Black. In that 1,000 square feet of exhibition space on the second floor of a brownstone, he saw "the spirit of America" and knew that he had found an institution which opened the doorway to our American heritage.

Things seemed to fall into decades as it was ten years later that the property on 53rd Street was purchased and in another ten years the Museum opened its current gallery space, the Eva and Morris Feld Gallery at Two Lincoln Center. "Now we are coming home," Mr Wertkin told the people who had gathered for the ground breaking event. "We are going to build the first museum from the ground up in more than 30 years in New York City."

Excitement ran through the group of trustees gathered to dig that symbolic shovel full of dirt, and praise was showered on all of those involved in the project. Senator Roy Goodman was on hand to say a few words, noting that art has appeal to all walks of life in New York City and this was indeed a "museum event with no conflict." Mr Wertkin applauded the role Schuyler Chapin, Commissioner of Cultural Affairs in New York City, has played in moving the museum project along through the red tape of government. Mr Chapin said that he was very pleased with the work and goals of the Museum and that its presence on 53rd Street was creating "a second museum mile."

During the ground breaking Mr Wertkin called to the podium or singled out a number of people whose efforts have made this all happen. Ralph Esmerian, chairman of the Board of Trustees, has been a major player in the life of the Museum for many years. He joined the board in the mid 1970s as treasurer and was instrumental in the purchase of the 53rd Street property. "When we ran short of funds, we looked to Ralph for help," Mr Wertkin said, adding, "he was always there when needed." Some of the greatest works in the Museum’s collection or have been given by Mr Esmerian, and his entire collection, containing some of the finest examples of American folk art in private hands, is now a promised gift to the Museum.

Funding a project of this magnitude is always a concern, but this huge task and many details have been fine-tuned by the hard-working vice president of the Board of Directors, Lucy Cullman Danziger. As chairman of the $33 million Capital Campaign she has, to date, raised $22 million from both private and public sources. Of this number, $2.5 million was appropriated by the City of New York ($1.5 million from the New York City Council and $1 million from the office of the mayor), and another $510,000 from the State of New York.

"The everyday nuts and bolts of this entire project have fallen into the lap of our very capable project manager, Riccardo Salmona, the Museum’s deputy director," Mr Wertkin said, adding, "he has lived closely with it from the very start and has gotten us to where we are today." And as these compliments were being paid, Ricky was in the background outfitting the trustees with shovels for the formal photograph.

From what has been learned, the selection of an architect for the project became obvious from the start. The firm of Tod Williams, Billie Tsien and Associates of New York City won the complete confidence of the Board of Trustees, and after two years of planning, zoning variances and design, all is ready to go. This will be the first major public project for the firm in New York City. In the past the architects have designed the Neuroscience Institute in La Jolla, Calif., which was completed in 1995 and was called "a magnificent piece of work" by The New York Times. A series of renovations and additions to the Phoenix Art Museum and Theater Center was completed in 1996, and in 1992 the New College facilities at the University of Virginia were finished. Other recent projects have been at Princeton University Science Building and Aquatic Center in Troy, N.Y., The Emma Willard School, and the Cranbrook Natatorium, Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Current work includes the John Hopkins Student Art Center, the East Asian Library at the University of California, Berkley, and the Visitor Center at the New York Botanical Garden.

Tod Williams noted that it was a "strong decision to stay on 53rd Street and, surrounded by the powerhouse Museum of Modern Art, we are going to be a jewel in its side." The firm, noted for its attention to the use of light, has designed the front of the building to capture the sunlight as it passes from east to west and at some times in the shadows of the building on the opposite side of the street. A skylight will cap the top of the building and cut-throughs at each floor will allow natural light to filter into the galleries and to the lower floors.

"We have completed 186 sheets of drawings," Tod Williams said, adding, "we are doing many things which do not generally figure into the design of a building." In particular he pointed out that the structure will be built out over the subway, a cause for a zoning variance, and an area at the back of the building is being designed in the hopes that it will some day become shared space with the Museum of Modern Art. "Some time in the future, if MOMA figures us into their construction plans, the flat area could become a very attractive sculpture garden utilized by both institutions," Mr Williams said. MOMA owns the empty adjoining lot to the west of the building site and has consented to allow the museum to stage its construction on that property.

Seven of the eight floors will be dedicated to public space and include galleries, an atrium, an auditorium, classrooms, a café and a museum shop. The two floors below ground level will house the reference library and the offices. The museum, which will measure only 40 feet wide, will have a total of 30,000 square feet as compared to the 2,500 square feet now in use at the Eva and Morris Feld Gallery, Two Lincoln Square.

Billie Tsien spoke of "the museum that could" and noted the careful planning and design which has gone into this project to "create a home and house for American folk art." She stressed the importance of light and pointed out that the skylight will "bathe the objects in soft light."

The sounds of construction equipment digging into that "lot of dreams" will go on for close to six months while the foundation is set. And knowing that there is certain to be water on the property, the architects have designed the museum "as a bathtub." Move in and the mounting of the first exhibition is set for the fall of 2001, or possibly early winter. That date is really not important at this point in time. The first thing is to start digging.