Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Whew, They Made It; ANS Collection Traverses City Streets to New Home
Yesterday's New York Times reported on the move of the ANS coin collection to the Society's new home: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/16/nyregion/16coins.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=ANS&st=cse&oref=slogin. I have already had an opportunity to see the new headquarters. Although I am sad that the ANS no longer owns its own building and that financial considerations have forced an abandonment of any effort to construct extensive display space for the public, the new facilities should be top notch for the needs of numismatic scholars of whatever sort i.e., archaeologists, art historians, collectors or even coin dealers. In any event, congratulations to the ANS staff for their fine work.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
Peter,
Do you happen to know if there are any pictures of their new location available on the web? I haven't seen any. Are their new quarters much smaller than the old bank building on Fulton Street?
Nathan- Thanks for your comment. According to the ANS website and a press release, the old building was 35,000 square feet while the new building is 20,000 square feet of rented space. However, the key is "useable space." For various reasons, substantial amounts of the old building were not useable. I will have an opportunity to tour the new space this weekend and
will do another post with some impressions. I'm sure pictures will be released as soon as the space is fully occupied.
For more information about the old space, see: http://www.numismatics.org/vist96fulton2.htm
For more information about the new space, see: http://www.coinlink.com/News/clubs-associations/american-numismatic-society-to-relocate-to-new-headquarters-in-manhattan/
Best regards,
Peter
Thanks for the reply. I remember that some parts of the old building were not useable and in need of renovation, such as the planned exhibition area, which was gutted when I last saw. Glad to hear they're still having a relatively large space and one that doesn't require as much rennovation. Please do share your impressions after touring, I look forward to it.
Best,
Nathan
For pictures of the building see http://hudsonsquare.org/buildings/hudsonsquare_1/index.html.
The ANS Magazine has pictures of the ANS' space inside. My copy arrived on Monday.
I just had the opportunity to view the new space again, but in an almost finished state. Things are coming along quite nicely. Staff are set to move in next week. They should all like the spectacular views from their new offices, the high ceilings, and most importantly the natural light which should benefit everyone examining the collections.
I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the space available for display will actually be about the same size as that currently available at the Federal Reserve Bank of NY, where the ANS already has some coins on display. This is not as much space as was promised at the current building, but it will become a reality rather than an un-funded dream.
As indicated Ed's post, there are some pictures of the new space in the current ANS Magazine.
I am very pleased with the lay out. Unlike the current building, everthing is centralized on one floor, which should make it easier on staff and visitors.
The space should be open to the public in September. Hopefully, ANS members and others interested in the study of coins will make the trip. The new building is easily accessible near the Holland Tunnel.
Post a Comment