Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1220 Fifth Ave. (at 103rd St.).
&
212/534-1672.
www.mcny.org. Suggested admis-
sion $9 adults, $5 seniors, students, and children, $20 families. Tues-Sun
10am-5pm. Admission free Sun 10am-noon. Subway: 6 to 103rd St.
Museum of Jewish Heritage—A Living Memorial to the
Holocaust
In the south end of Battery Park City, the Museum
of Jewish Heritage occupies a strikingly spare six-sided building
designed by award-winning architect Kevin Roche, with a six-tier
roof alluding to the Star of David and the six million murdered in
the Holocaust. The permanent exhibits—“Jewish Life a Century
Ago, The War Against the Jews,” and “Jewish Renewal”—recount
their prewar lives, the unforgettable horror that destroyed them, and
the tenacious renewal experienced by European and immigrant Jews
in the years from the late 19th century to the present. The museum's
power derives from the way it tells that story: through the objects,
photographs, documents, and, most poignantly, the videotaped tes-
timonies of Holocaust victims, survivors, and their families, chroni-
cled by Steven Spielberg's Survivors of the Shoah Visual History
Foundation. Thursday evening is dedicated to panel discussions, per-
formances, and music, while Sunday is for family programs and
workshops; a film series is also a part of the calendar.
While advance tickets are not usually necessary, you may want to
purchase them to guarantee admission; call
&
212/945-0039.
Audio tours narrated by Meryl Streep and Itzhak Perlman are avail-
able at the museum for an additional $5.
36 Battery Place (at 1st Place), Battery Park City.
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646/437-4200.
www.mjhnyc.
org. Admission $10 adults, $7 seniors, $5 students, free for children under 12 and for
everyone Wed 4-8pm. Check website for $2-off admission coupon (available at
press time). Sun-Tues and Thurs 10am-5:45pm; Wed 10am-8pm; Fri and eves of
Jewish holidays 10am-3pm. Subway: 4, 5 to Bowling Green.
New Museum of Contemporary Art
Like boxes haphazardly
piled upon one another, the seven-story New Museum of Contem-
porary Art, rising above the tenements of the Lower East Side, is
New York's newest (2007) museum icon. But it's not only the exte-
rior that catches the eye; the exhibits reflect the slightly offbeat,
slanted look of the museum. The museum's debut exhibition,
“Unmonumental,” a four-part series displaying 21st-century sculp-
tures, objects, video, and collages by 30 international artists, was a
fitting beginning to what promises to be a bright future. On the first
Saturday of each month, the museum offers programs for families
with thematic tours, conversations with artists, and creative activi-
ties, all free of charge. Advance registration is required.
