SEPTEMBER 2004

EAT, THINK, CONSUME. SOON. VERY SOON.

We've been looking for a really cool place where we can consume the day's issues. While we're enjoying some good food. And of course, it's not complete without a glass of wine or the absolute best cup of coffee.

We've wanted some place where we could share good books, intriguing things for the home, and some of the best design objects we can find. We've got music and films and ideas we want to tell you about, but just haven't found quite the right venue.

That's about to change.

The Wolfsonian has always been a place to make you think about the world. Now we're enhancing that experience by introducing our new, expanded museum store and café, set to open in late fall. It will be an inviting place to sit and read, shop, meet friends, enjoy a glass of wine, and think and talk about the issues and ideas that The Wolfsonian's programs and exhibitions inspire you to think about.

"We want our museum store and café to be an intelligent destination with thoughtful offerings that parallel the themes and ideas represented in our collection and exhibitions - communication arts, architecture and design, industrial design, political propaganda, games, and of course, the culinary arts" explains Cathy Leff, The Wolfsonian's director. "We are a prime location. We want to offer our visitors a new amenity that they have been asking for, as well as persuade passersby to step into the galleries by offering them a window into the museum."

The book selection will be expanded, thanks to a collaborative relationship with Mitchell Kaplan, proprietor of Books and Books of Coral Gables and Miami Beach. It will feature not only architectural and design titles, but biographies and historical fiction related to the collection's period of 1885 to 1945. Book clubs and author events are also being planned.

The new space is designed by architect Mark Hampton in collaboration with Richard Miltner, the museum's exhibition designer. Mr. Hampton was the architect for the building's original renovation from a five-story former storage facility to a seven-story, state-of-the-art museum and educational facility. The café will seat approximately thirty people and will have wireless Internet access. A 60-inch plasma screen will feature films, simulcast programs from our auditorium, and the expected propaganda. Two large windows will open directly onto Washington Avenue, giving the museum a much-welcome street presence.

The focal point of the café/store will be a large shelving system from the late 1800s designed by Bernard R. Green and crafted of iron with a bronze finish by the Snead & Company Iron Works. It was the first modular book stacking system ever created; a similar system can be found at the New York Public Library, the Library of Congress, and the Vatican Library. "It's a beautiful system," Hampton says. "Everything else is very clean and simple and modern. The walls will be white to show off the bronze shelving system, the floor is black terrazzo with mother-of-pearl, and the ceiling will be black also, to complement the floor."

The expansion has long been a goal of the museum staff. "We've been working on this concept for quite some time," explains Cathy Leff. "We had to raise the money to do this, and we've been very fortunate to have some key supporters."

Among them is U.S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, whose dedication to the project resulted in a $321,000 Economic Development Initiative grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. "The new café and bookstore will be a wonderful addition to The Wolfsonian, and will help attract additional visitors to the museum, enhancing what is already a significant cultural and educational resource in the Miami community," she said. "The new facility is more than simply a place to eat and shop. It will be a wonderful place for residents to gather - and it will help to revitalize that stretch of Washington Avenue."

Another key supporter of the effort is the City of Miami Beach, which made a $176,000 grant to the museum. According to City Manager Jorge Gonzalez, "The city is making a major investment in physical improvements along Washington Avenue. The new store and café at The Wolfsonian will be a wonderful addition to the street, and so the City Commission was pleased to support the effort."

News Index