Despite the fact that you can't take pictures inside the museum, I did take a few outside. The Y shape that you see in the second photo was specifically placed on the front of the building by Isabella Stewart Gardner because she enjoyed Spanish culture and used the Spanish spelling of her name, Ysabella.
The museum is also undergoing a major renovation project that will provide a new entrance, coatroom, and a much larger cafe. It should reduce some of the impact that visitors have on the delicate collections. It was a huge endeavor to get approval for the expansion because Isabella Stewart Gardner specifically stated that nothing within the museum was to be changed or moved. The museum's board of directors eventually agreed that the carriage house at the rear of the museum building was not considered a part of the museum and could therefore be changed. Let's hope that when the renovation is completed in 2012 it looks as wonderful as it should!
No comments:
Post a Comment