Portland Museum of Art Expansion | Portland

TC_zoid said:
They demolished that wonderful and interesting church for the building that WCSH is in! Somewhat sacrilegious, if you ask me. Don't miss the billboards though. Thanks for posting.
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FWIW, it wasn't built for WCSH... they were still across the street in the Congress Square Hotel. When it was built, it was offices for New England Telephone, and in those days you didn't argue with The Phone Company. So far as the church goes, I'm not sure if the congregation wanted it razed or not as part of the sale.

Note that that photo also shows the original cupola and dome from the Greek Orthodox church on Pleasant St.; I believe that was lost in a fire at some point and never rebuilt.

Portlander said:
markhb, I do remember seeing "Jaws" at the State Theater during the summer of 1975 and I think the downward spiral started not long after that. You can also barely make out the signage for the Pearle Vision Center in the Schwartz Building which I think was the last time any legitimate business occupied that space.
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Are you sure that wasn't the Fine Arts? I believe the State transitioned c. 1970 (infamously, it went from showing "The Sound of Music" one week to "I Am Curious, Yellow" the next). ISTR the Fine Arts showed Jaws for a year with "Held Over 37th Week!" ads in the paper.
 
^ You are correct, I remember the line extended to the State and around the corner down High. While we're on the subject, the current building (Geno's) is the number one eyesore on Congress Street in my opinion and I'm annoyed every time I walk by it. Not sure why the owners have not taken advantage of some of the facade improvement programs offered by the city over the years? You just taught me something new, I had no idea what ISTR meant until I just looked it up! :)
 
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Jim you have an endless repository of historic Portland photos! I love 'em!

For all the mistakes that the city and state might have made regarding the built environment, one unquestionable winner was the move to get rid of billboards. With a few exceptions (Times Square, Vegas, etc.) outdoor advertising almost always detracts from the built or natural environment. It's so ubiquitous in much of the country and contributes to the boring homogeneity of so many cities and suburbs in the U.S.
 
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The structure to the right of the Libby Building on High Street was also demolished to eventually make way for the museum expansion. Thanks Max, I try and give the people what they want and sometimes I feel that I might be adding too much history to our threads.
 
Cosakita18 said:
From what I understand, the initial vision is for a building that will extend all the way from Spring St. to Free St. Because of the topography, they're thinking it will have a 7-story frontage on Spring St. and a 6-story frontage on Free St.

The building is expected to include space for permanent and temporary exhibitions, admin space, classrooms, studios, office space, event space and potentially housing.
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I believe we will see the 7 story section closer to Free than Spring or midway between given that the Clapp House is to be incorporated and of course fronts Spring street.
 
Portland museum gets closer to expansion with short list of potential architects..

  • Adjaye Associates with KMA, Michael Boucher Landscape Architecture, Atelier Ten, and 2x4
  • LEVER Architecture with Unknown Studio, Chris Newell-Akomawt Educational Initiative, Openbox, Once-Future Office, Atelier Ten and Studio Pacifica
  • MVRDV with STOSS, the Institute for Human Centered Design, Pentagram, Atelier Ten and DVDL
  • Toshiko Mori Architect, Johnston Marklee and Preston Scott Cohen with Hargreaves Jones, Cross Cultural Community Services, WeShouldDoItAll, Buro Happold Consulting Engineers and Arup.

From the MaineBiz article:

The Portland Museum of Art Campus Unification + Expansion International Design Competition now officially enters Stage II, which will culminate in December when the winning team is announced. Between now and then, the teams will visit the PMA for site tours and to meet with stakeholders and staff, submit an interim report and present to the jury this fall.

Concept designs are due mid-fall, followed by a public display and comment period, where drawings, models and videos of the proposed designs will be on view and available to the public at the PMA Nov. 18 to Dec. 9.

Teams will share public presentations outlining their design in early December. The winning design team will be selected by a Jury, comprised of community and museum stakeholders, global thought-leaders, and world-renowned architects and a winning team will be announced by the end of 2022.

The jury is made up of:
  • Kyo Bannai, board of trustees
  • Mark H.C. Bessire, Judy and Leonard Lauder Director of PMA
  • Milton Curry Della, principal, Milton Curry ProjectStudio
  • Harry MacDonald, dean of the University of Southern California School of Architecture
  • Eileen Gillespie, president of the board of trustees, visual artist
  • Cyrus Hagge, chair of the board of trustees; owner of Project Management Inc.
  • Jocelyn Handy, board of trustees
  • Elizabeth Jabar, board of trustees, Lawry Family Director of Civic Engagement and Partnerships at Colby College
  • Márcia Minter, board of trustees; co-Founder and executive director of the Indigo Arts Alliance
  • Theresa Secord, board of trustees; executive director at Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance
  • Jack Soley, board of trustees; partner at East Brown Cow
  • Monica von Schmalensee, partner at White Arkitekter
  • Sara Zewde, founding principal of Studio Zewde and assistant professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design
  • Susanna Sirefman, competition director and jury advisor; president of Dovetail Design Strategists
 
I would think even bigger than 6-7 stories. Perhaps 10. The museum will undoubtedly be acquiring more pieces along with bequeaths. The new Glickman photography collection gift will take up an entire floor on its own. I think Portland is punching at another level in the not-too-distant future, so the museum build should reflect that. The city is experiencing an economic and development boon with not just buildings, but with complexes -- e.g., Roux, USM, Herald Square, Portland Foreside. Don't undersize this museum addition the way the civic center did with its. Look ahead. That facility is nearly unusable now because they overlooked or misunderstood or ignored how people (youth) want to experience events today -- standing up and walking around, still able to see the event, and not just sitting in a seat for 3-4 hours.
 
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In case anyone is interested in attending:

Imagining The Next Maine Landmark: A First Look At The Future PMA

You’re invited to a free community event as we welcome our four finalist architect-led design teams to share their visions for the future of the PMA and Portland, Maine.

Friday, November 18, 2022
5:30 PM-7:00 PM
Hannaford Hall, University of Southern Maine
 
I think I'll check out the four designs at the museum's lower ground floor at 7 PM. Will be exciting to see the visions from the selected architects and it would be great if the general public could vote for their favorite. (y)
 
Portlander said:
I think I'll check out the four designs at the museum's lower ground floor at 7 PM. Will be exciting to see the visions from the selected architects and it would be great if the general public could vote for their favorite. (y)
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They are taking questions for the panel at this meeting (there's a form at that link) and I believe I saw somewhere that public comment will be accepted and considered by the judges.
 
nomc said:
They are taking questions for the panel at this meeting (there's a form at that link) and I believe I saw somewhere that public comment will be accepted and considered by the judges.
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Yes, a good idea to do this. I submitted one. Ideally, the addition should be stand-alone, to not share a wall with the existing 40 year-old all-brick building. Have you ever been to the Guggenheim and Broad (LA)? I know, the extremes of great arch, but imagine those two buildings sharing a wall with another lesser museum. Why compromise? I think they should find a way to raise another 50 million to up the game. They have Scott Black as an existing benefactor, and he loans out his collection. He's a billionaire! Surely he can donate a paltry 50 mill (or on top of what he's already contributed). Projects in Maine are always done conservatively, or less than. Create something truly great. I think Portland has arrived as a prominent national destination. Why build something average, as far as museums go?
 
They've advertised this as an $85M expansion - can anyone put that in perspective with other expansion projects taken on by similar museums? My initial reaction when it was first announced was that $85M doesn't seem like a ton of money for all that they're looking to do. However, I see the New Museum expansion is adding roughly the same square footage/similar amenities for $63M - so maybe $85M is a good amount of dough. Anyone know of other comps?

Bonus content: here's a rendering of what the New Museum is adding:

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nomc said:
They've advertised this as an $85M expansion - can anyone put that in perspective with other expansion projects taken on by similar museums? My initial reaction when it was first announced was that $85M doesn't seem like a ton of money for all that they're looking to do. However, I see the New Museum expansion is adding roughly the same square footage/similar amenities for $63M - so maybe $85M is a good amount of dough. Anyone know of other comps?

Bonus content: here's a rendering of what the New Museum is adding:

View attachment 29768
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Wow, this is pretty incredible. Where is the "New Museum"? If Portland could do something stunning and unique that would be AWESOME. Portland needs something unique - like a Seattle Space Needle haha.

Almost sad that part of the expansion will be "hidden" behind Free Street, though highly visible from Spring Street.

What are the Height Limits for that area?
 
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New Museum is in Manhattan - I wouldn't have thought to compare it to the PMA, but seemingly a similarly sized expansion for $22M less?
 
Wow - squeals of jealousness from me down here in Providence! Some stararchitects for sure!
 
They had better be on their game with this. Even the Greats can flop. Don't rely on just a name.

MoPOP building/museum (Seattle), aka, "More Poop"
This tantrum of a design (Gehry) was described by New York Times architecture critic Herbert Muschamp as "something that crawled out of the sea, rolled over, and died."

Aerial_view_of_EMPSFM.jpg
 
I'd like to see a building in Portland with a sail shaped/angled roofline.....maybe the museum expansion fits the bill? I feel like it would be a great contrast with all the square buildings and an homage to sailing culture that is such a big part of Maine....past and present. Here are a couple of examples:

milwaukee-art-museum-1485390338.jpg
the-bundeswehr-military-history-museum-1485390337.jpg
 
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