The St. Louis Holocaust Museum and Learning Center announced Monday that it will build an $18 million expansion to house more exhibits.
When finished in 2021, the museum will triple in size to 35,000 square feet and have more room for permanent and temporary attractions. The project also will add a second level to the museum and two classrooms.
The museum has raised more than $14 million of the construction costs.
“There has been conversation and planning for about three years,” said Sandra Harris, executive director for the Holocaust Museum and Learning Center.
The museum also announced that it has received a $750,000 challenge grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The museum is also raising money to fund its endowment.
Much of the new space will be dedicated to students and student tours, Harris said.
“I think what excites me is the ability that we’re going to have dedicated space for a lot of the things that we’ve just sort of done,” Harris said. “We’ll have two dedicated classrooms, so after they go through and do tours, they’ll have a place where they can work.”
Monday’s announcement coincided with International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Six St. Louis-area Holocaust survivors lit candles to commemorate victims and survivors of the Holocaust.
“This is why it is a particularly fitting day to announce the expansion of the Holocaust Museum and Learning Center, an institution that has been and will continue to be at the forefront of this type of witness and education,” Rabbi Tracy Nathan said.
Construction is expected to begin in May and complete by late next year.
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