By Phil Corso
Though it plans to expand, the Queens Museum of Art will shrink its name in half, the institution said.
As the Flushing Meadows Corona Park museum readies itself for a planned $65 million, 50,000-square-foot expansion, management also said it would be dropping part of its name, soon to be known only as the Queens Museum.
The change was made to better reflect what the institution represents, according to a Queens Museum of Art spokesman. As the museum evolved beyond just the arts, a spokesman said a new name would be more appropriate.
By the end of the year, the Queens Museum will have doubled in size to a total of 100,000 square feet with new additions, including a 220-foot illuminated glass façade and entry plaza on the Grand Central Parkway side of the building, a new entrance and an expanded outdoor space on the park side.
But the area’s more historic features, including the 1964 World’s Fair “Panorama,” will remain unchanged, the museum said.
The museum actually shared the building with the World’s Fair Ice Rink until 2009, but expansion will now give it access to the entire city building, the Queens Museum said.
Reach reporter Phil Corso by e-mail at pcorso@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.
