Seattle Art Museum

Profile

Once the downtown SAM opened (with a breathtaking exhibition of Dale Chihuly's glass works), the original building closed for renovation. It reopened in 1994 as the Seattle Asian Art Museum , a showcase for the museum's world-renowned Asian collections and a community hub for Asian culture. From the start, the two facilities were deeply linked. In addition to sharing management and staff resources, the museum encouraged visitors to view both venues within one week for the price of one admission ticket-a practice that continues to this day.

With its success as a vibrant museum in two locations, museum leaders began to envision a third venue that could showcase outdoor sculpture, including remarkable works collected by local museum supporters. With that in mind, SAM, in partnership with the national land-conservation organization the Trust for Public Land, purchased the last remaining undeveloped property on Seattle's central waterfront in December 1999. Then-mayor Paul Schell applauded SAM's vision for a free park that would be "a place where residents and visitors can appreciate the beauty of our city and be inspired by artistic genius. It will be a legacy for our children, and for generations to come."

The waterfront property, which eventually grew to a nine-acre park, opened in early 2007 as the Seattle Art Museum's Olympic Sculpture Park-named by generous supporters Jon and Mary Shirley for its exquisite views over Elliott Bay of the Olympic Mountains. The park, designed by Weiss/Manfredi, immediately gained international attention, with seminal works by Richard Serra, Alexander Calder, Claes Oldenburg, Louise Bourgeois and other artists.

While the sculpture park was in development, SAM trustees adopted a plan to expand the downtown facility. They couldn't pass up the opportunity to collaborate on an adjacent building that would serve as Washington Mutual Bank's world headquarters and allow for a multi-phase expansion of SAM. Brad Cloepfil of Portland's Allied Works Architecture designed

a light-filled, open facility

that connects seamlessly to the 1991 Venturi building. A unique arrangement with Washington Mutual enables SAM to occupy the new building in phases, from the 118,000 sq. ft. expansion that debuted in spring 2007-including additional gallery and public spaces, a new restaurant and an expanded store-to an eventual total of 300,000 square feet. Combined with the Venturi building, the future downtown SAM will someday occupy 450,000 sq. ft.