Construction is underway on the new home of the Children’s Museum of Manhattan at 361 Central Park West on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Designed by FXCollaborative, the project will convert a landmarked church into a seven-story museum spanning 80,000 square feet. The facility will feature new research-backed exhibits and immersive experiences from THG Creative, as well as a dedicated performance space and a rooftop terrace with views of Central Park. The property is located at the northwest corner of Central Park West and West 96th Street.
Rendering of Children’s Museum Of Manhattan. Credit: Shawmut Design and Construction.
The adaptive reuse project will restore the building’s white granite façade, preserve its massing and steeple, and introduce new floors within the existing structure. Shawmut Design and Construction has completed interior demolition and has begun structural work to create new program space while retaining key spatial features, including the building’s barrel vault and tall arched windows.
Rendering of Children’s Museum Of Manhattan. Credit: Shawmut Design and Construction.
The expanded museum will also include a café and museum store. The project marks the institution’s first expansion in more than 40 years and will double its physical capacity when completed in 2028, allowing CMOM to serve children from birth through age ten.
The nearest subways from the development are the B and C trains at the 96th Street station on Central Park West, as well as the 1, 2, and 3 trains at the 96th Street station along Broadway.
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This was the 1903 First Christian Science Church by Carrere & Hastings, with a little help from Nicholas Hawksmoor. The church was sold to another congregation, and plans were later made to convert it into condo apartments. When I was last in it, small trees were growing out of the tower because of neglect. It is nice that the exterior will be restored.
A museum where you can go to see children!
That’s how rare they are with the endlessly greedy in charge.