Jersey City Museum

Last updated

Jersey City Museum
JC Main Library.jpg
The original museum at the Jersey City Free Public Library, opened in 1901.
Jersey City Museum
Established1901
Dissolved2010
Location Jersey City, New Jersey, United States
Type Art

The Jersey City Museum was a municipal art museum in Jersey City, New Jersey, United States, which opened in 1901 in the main branch of the Jersey City Free Public Library. It relocated to a new building in 2001, but due to financial difficulties and discord with the city closed to the public in 2010. In 2018, the museum collection was donated to the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University.

Contents

In 2018, the Jersey City municipal government began the process of establishing a new museum in a historic building at Journal Square. It was expected to open as Centre Pompidou x Jersey City, a satellite museum of the Centre Pompidou, and exhibit works of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries from the Pompidou collection, but funding for the project was withdrawn by the state.

History

1901–2000 at Jersey City Public Library

The Jersey City Museum dates back to 1901, when its collection was housed on the fourth floor of the Jersey City Free Public Library on Jersey Avenue, in the Van Vorst Park section of downtown. It closed in 1953 for lack of funding and re-opened in 1975. [1] Jersey City historian J. Owen Grundy served five times as the museum president. [2]

The collection remained under the aegis of the library until 1987, when the museum association initiated efforts for the founding of a separate nonprofit institution. [3] In 1993, the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency (JCRA) donated a building on Montgomery Street for display of the museum collection. [4]

2001–2013 at Montgomery Street

The museum relocated to a new location (also in the Van Vorst Park section) in 2001. [5] The cream-colored brick building at 350 Montgomery Street, a former post office warehouse circa 1929, was renovated at the cost of $6.5 million, to become the museum's next location. [3] Designed by architect Charles Alling Gifford, the interior offered a modern space enhanced by a skylight lobby. The re-fitted building included several galleries, a 152-seat theater, museum offices, a classroom, and a gift shop. [6]

In 2001, the museum relocated to Montgomery Street. Jersey City Museum Oct 2011.jpg
In 2001, the museum relocated to Montgomery Street.

The stated mission of the museum was to serve the community by "maintaining, preserving, and interpreting the region's cultural heritage".[ citation needed ] In order to stimulate community participation in the visual arts and to reflect the cultural diversity of New Jersey, the museum gave special attention to the exhibition of contemporary art, and it recognized the visual artists residing in New Jersey and its metropolitan area.[ citation needed ] For example, the museum hosted the debut of a solo exhibition of the works of Priscila De Carvalho.[ citation needed ]

Due to financial difficulties and in danger of losing the building, the museum closed to the general public in December 2010, [7] amid speculation that it might not reopen. [8] [9] However, the building was purchased by the Jersey City Medical Center in February 2012 for partial use as offices, with the remaining space and theater dedicated to display of the museum collection that reopened in June, [10] [11] [12] but closed permanently soon thereafter. [13] A 2015 court ruling decided that the city government was not obligated to financially support the museum and that the collection belonged to the museum association. [14]

2018 donation to Rutgers

The museum's collection comprises American art and material culture from the colonial period through the present, including painting, sculpture, decorative arts, photography, works on paper, furniture, metals, textiles, maps, industrial objects, and ephemera. [15] It included works by contemporary artists David Wojnarowicz, Chakaia Booker, and Emma Amos, pieces by Colin Campbell Cooper, and a large body of work by nineteenth-century painter August Will. [16] [15]

In 2018, the museum collection (estimated between 5,000 to 10,000 works) was donated to the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University. [16] The opening of the Museum of Jersey City History offers the possibility for some of the collection to be returned to the city. [17]

Pathside building

The Journal Square building was purchased from Hudson County Community College in 2018. HCCC25Sip.jpg
The Journal Square building was purchased from Hudson County Community College in 2018.

In April 2016, the city government announced that it was considering purchasing the building at 25 Journal Square. The structure had been built in 1912 as part of the Public Service transportation hub for its streetcar lines. That corporation became known as Public Service Electric and Gas Company, whose transportation business became the nucleus of the NJ Transit bus network and the Newark City Subway. The building had been purchased in 1996 by Hudson County Community College, which renamed it to "Pathside". [18] The college used the building until 2017. [19] The city purchased the edifice through its redevelopment agency, JCRA, in 2018 [20] and, after an RFP, awarded Office of Metropolitan Architecture the commission to conceive and design a new space for a new Jersey City Museum. [21] [22]

Centre Pompidou x Jersey City

In June 2021, the city announced that the Pathside building would be renovated for use as a satellite of the Centre Pompidou in Paris and called Centre Pompidou x Jersey City. [23] [24] [25] Under a five-year extendable contract, the renovated Pathside would house an exhibition of artworks from Centre Pompidou, following closure of the Paris museum for a three-year renovation. Renovation costs are estimated to be $30 million on top of the $9 million purchase price and would be largely funded by the state. [26] An opening in early 2024 was scheduled, with works of the 20th and 21st centuries drawn from Pompidou's 120,000-piece collection. [27] [28] This was later postponed to 2026. [26] New Jersey Republican Senator Michael Testa accused the project of excess, waste, and potential pay-to-play, and requested an audit by the state. [29] [30] [31] [32] As of November 2023, expected operating costs had not been made public. [33] The New Jersey Economic Development Authority, which had earmarked $34 million for the project, said it would not release the funds until yearly operating expenses were clarified. [34] In June 2024, the state withdrew financial support for the project, calling it no longer viable. [35] In September, Jersey City mayor Steven Fulop announced an alternative location in a high-rise development in Journal Square, though this was opposed by councilman James Solomon. [36]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Centre Pompidou</span> Art museum in Paris, France

The Centre Pompidou, more fully the Centre national d'art et de culture Georges-Pompidou, also known as the Pompidou Centre in English, is a complex building in the Beaubourg area of the 4th arrondissement of Paris, near Les Halles, rue Montorgueil, and the Marais. It was designed in the style of high-tech architecture by the architectural team of Richard Rogers, Su Rogers, Renzo Piano, along with Gianfranco Franchini.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newark, New Jersey</span> Most populous city in New Jersey, United States

Newark is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 311,549. The Population Estimates Program calculated a population of 304,960 for 2023, making it the 66th-most populous municipality in the nation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rutgers University</span> Multi-campus public research university in New Jersey

Rutgers University, officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was affiliated with the Dutch Reformed Church. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States, the second-oldest in New Jersey, and one of nine colonial colleges that were chartered before the American Revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jersey City, New Jersey</span> City in Hudson County, New Jersey, US

Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark. It is the county seat of Hudson County, and is the county's most populous city and its largest. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 292,449, an increase of 44,852 (+18.1%) from the 2010 census count of 247,597, in turn an increase of 7,542 (+3.1%) from the 240,055 enumerated at the 2000 census. The Population Estimates Program calculated a population of 291,657 for 2023, making it the 72nd-most populous municipality in the nation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union City, New Jersey</span> City in Hudson County, New Jersey, US

Union City is a city in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city was the state's 18th-most-populous municipality, with a population of 68,589, an increase of 2,134 (+3.2%) from the 2010 census count of 66,455, which in turn had reflected a decline of 633 (−0.9%) from the 67,088 counted in the 2000 census. As of the 2010 Census, among cities with a population of more than 50,000, it was the most densely populated city in the United States, with a density of 54,138 per square mile of land. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 65,366 in 2022, ranking the city the 590th-most-populous in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Brunswick, New Jersey</span> City in Middlesex County, New Jersey, US

New Brunswick is a city in and the county seat of Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A regional commercial hub for central New Jersey, the city is both a college town and a commuter town for residents commuting to New York City within the New York metropolitan area. New Brunswick is on the Northeast Corridor rail line, 27 miles (43 km) southwest of Manhattan. The city is located on the southern banks of the Raritan River in the heart of the Raritan Valley region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noguchi Museum</span> Museum in Queens, New York

The Noguchi Museum is a museum and sculpture garden at 32-37 Vernon Boulevard in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens in New York City, designed and created by the Japanese American sculptor Isamu Noguchi (1904–1988). Opening on a limited basis to the public in 1985, the museum and foundation were intended to preserve and display Noguchi's sculptures, architectural models, stage designs, drawings, and furniture designs. The two-story, 24,000 square feet (2,200 m2) museum and sculpture garden, one block from the Socrates Sculpture Park, underwent major renovations in 2004 allowing the museum to stay open year-round.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vancouver Art Gallery</span> Art museum in British Columbia, Canada

The Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) is an art museum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The museum occupies a 15,300-square-metre-building (165,000 sq ft) adjacent to Robson Square in downtown Vancouver, making it the largest art museum in Western Canada by building size. Designed by Francis Rattenbury, the building the museum occupies was originally opened as a provincial courthouse, before it was re-purposed for museum use in the early 1980s. The building was designated the Former Vancouver Law Courts National Historic Site of Canada in 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hoboken Terminal</span> Commuter station in Hoboken, New Jersey

Hoboken Terminal is a commuter-oriented intermodal passenger station in Hoboken, Hudson County, New Jersey. One of the New York metropolitan area's major transportation hubs, it is served by eight NJ Transit (NJT) commuter rail lines, an NJ Transit event shuttle to Meadowlands Sports Complex, one Metro-North Railroad line, various NJT buses and private bus lines, the Hudson–Bergen Light Rail, the Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) rapid transit system, and NY Waterway-operated ferries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Art Gallery of Alberta</span> Art museum in Edmonton, Alberta

The Art Gallery of Alberta (AGA) is an art museum in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The museum occupies an 8,000 square metres (86,000 sq ft) building at Churchill Square in downtown Edmonton. The museum building was originally designed by Donald G. Bittorf, and B. James Wensley, although portions of that structure were demolished or built over during a redevelopment of the building by Randall Stout.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenville, Jersey City</span> Populated place in Hudson County, New Jersey, US

Greenville is the southernmost section of Jersey City in Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Journal Square</span> District of Jersey City, New Jersey, US

Journal Square is a business district, residential area, and transportation hub in Jersey City, New Jersey, which takes its name from the newspaper Jersey Journal whose headquarters were located there from 1911 to 2013. The "square" itself is at the intersection of Kennedy Boulevard and Bergen Avenue. The broader area extends to and includes Bergen Square, McGinley Square, India Square, the Five Corners and parts of the Marion Section. Many local, state, and federal agencies serving Hudson County maintain offices in the district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newark Public Library</span> United States historic place

The Newark Public Library (NPL) is a public library system in Newark, New Jersey. The library system offers numerous programs and events to its diverse population. With eight different locations, the Newark Public Library serves as a Statewide Reference Center. The Newark Public Library is the public library system for the city of Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, United States. The library system boasts a collection of art and literature, art and history exhibits, a variety of programs for all ages. The library is home to author Philip Roth's collections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Beacon (Jersey City)</span> Development in Hudson County, New Jersey, US

The Beacon is a mixed-use development located on a 14-acre (57,000 m2) site on Bergen Hill, a crest of the Hudson Palisades and one of the highest geographical points in Jersey City, Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The Beacon, which occupies the Jersey City Medical Center's rehabilitated original complex, creates the northeastern corner of the Bergen-Lafayette section and is just east of McGinley Square. The Beacon includes 2,000,000 square feet (190,000 m2) of residential and retail space, approximately 1,200 luxury residences and 80,000 square feet (7,400 m2) of retail space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jersey City Armory</span> Armory in Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.

The Jersey City Armory is an armory for the U.S. Army National Guard at 678 Montgomery Street in the McGinley Square neighborhood in Jersey City, New Jersey. Completed in 1937, the armory was designed by chief architect General Hugh A. Kelly of the Jersey City firm of Kelly and Gruzen in the Beaux-Arts style. In addition to being a military training and mustering facility of the New Jersey National Guard, the WPA era armory has long been used as a sports arena, particularly for boxing, basketball, and track and field events, and more recently mixed martial arts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queens Campus, Rutgers University</span> College campus in Middlesex County, New Jersey, US

The Queens Campus or Old Queens Campus is a historic section of the College Avenue Campus of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jersey City Free Public Library</span> Public library system in New Jersey, US

The Jersey City Free Public Library (JCFPL) is the municipal library system of Jersey City, New Jersey, serving the residents of Hudson County. The library was established in 1889, opened in 1891, and had its first dedicated building, the main library, by 1901. Numerous branches have since opened and as of 2023 there are nine throughout the city as well as a bookmobile. It has over a million physical and digital items its collection, making it the largest library system in the state.

<i>Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial</i> (Jersey City)

The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial is a memorial to Martin Luther King Jr. at the Martin Luther King Drive station of the Hudson–Bergen Light Rail in the Jackson Hill section of Jersey City, New Jersey.

References

  1. ↑ Fruchter, Rena (June 8, 1986). "Jersey City, in Budget Trouble, Trying to Keep Museum Open". The New York Times.
  2. ↑ "J. Owen Grundy Dead at 73; Official Jersey City Historian". The New York Times. January 30, 1985.
  3. 1 2 "Library Guides: Jersey City Museum: Jersey City Museum". njcu.libguides.com.
  4. ↑ Fry, Chris (March 11, 2021). "Barnabas Health Plans Renovation at Former Jersey City Museum Property". Jersey Digs.
  5. ↑ Zimmer, William (September 30, 2001). "ART REVIEW; Political Art Inaugurates the Jersey City Museum's New Space". The New York Times. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  6. ↑ Hayes, Melissa (September 17, 2010). "Jersey City officials say art museum is behind on mortgage, bills". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  7. ↑ Kaulessan, Ricardo (May 16, 2010). "Unanswered questions about JC Museum 109 year old institution faces uncertain future". Hudson Reporter. Archived from the original on June 26, 2011. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
  8. ↑ McDonald, Terrence T. (July 30, 2011). "Jersey City Museum unlikely to regain its luster and reopen to public". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  9. ↑ Watkins, Ally (January 26, 2011). "Jersey City Art Museum Closes Amid Steep Cuts in the Garden State". BLOUIN ARTINFO. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  10. ↑ Hortillosa, Summer Dawn (June 6, 2012). "Museum Board Medical Center and Art-school all play a role in Jersey City Museum's reopening". Jersey City Independent.
  11. ↑ Cronk, Aiyana (June 26, 2012). "Jersey City Museum will reopen on Saturdays, starting this week". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  12. ↑ Musat, Stephanie (July 1, 2012). "Jersey City Museum opens doors to warm reception after being closed since 2010". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  13. ↑ Wright, E. Assata (June 3, 2012). "JC Museum Plans 'Quiet' Reopening But Questions Still Linger Regarding Art Collection Inventory". Jersey City Reporter.
  14. ↑ Zeitlinger, Ron (October 4, 2019). "Jersey City's loss is Rutgers' gain: Dormant museum collection 'gifted' to state university". The Jersey Journal.
  15. 1 2 "Jersey City Museum Permanent Collection New York City.com : Profile". NYC.com.
  16. 1 2 Zeitlinger, Ron (October 4, 2019). "Jersey City's loss is Rutgers' gain: Dormant museum collection 'gifted' to state university". The Jersey Journal.
  17. ↑ "Museum of Jersey City History is One Step Closer to Reality". jcitytimes.com. August 9, 2022. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  18. ↑ History, J. C. "Library Guides: Hudson County Community College: Hudson County Community College". njcu.libguides.com.
  19. ↑ McDonald, Terrence T. (April 12, 2016). "Jersey City in talks to bring art museum to Journal Square". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  20. ↑ McDonald, Terrence T. (November 13, 2017). "New home, new life for Jersey City Museum?". The Jersey Journal.
  21. ↑ Hilburg, Jonathan (August 7, 2018). "OMA selected to design a new Jersey City Museum". The Architect's Newspaper. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  22. ↑ Sullivan, Al (January 28, 2018). "World class arts facility planned". Hudson Reporter.
  23. ↑ Jacobs, Julia (June 4, 2021). "Far from Paris, the Pompidou Plans an Outpost in Jersey City". The New York Times.
  24. ↑ Hilburg, Jonathan (June 7, 2021). "OMA Will Build Out the First American Pompidou Center in Jersey City". ArchDaily.
  25. ↑ Selvin, Claire (June 4, 2021). "Paris's Centre Pompidou to Open New Jersey Satellite Museum". ARTnews.
  26. 1 2 Rosario, Joshua (April 18, 2023). "Centre Pompidou x Jersey City opening is delayed again, until 2026, mayor says". The JerseyJournal.
  27. ↑ Beckerman, Jim (June 8, 2021). "Pompidou heralds a new age for Jersey City". North Jersey Media Group.
  28. ↑ Chang, Rachel (June 7, 2021). "One of Paris's Most Iconic Museums Is Opening Its First North American Location in an Unexpected U.S. City". Travel and Leisure.
  29. ↑ Greenberger, Alex (August 1, 2023). "Republican Lawmakers Say Centre Pompidou's Planned Jersey City Museum Is 'Gross Excess and Waste'". ArtNews. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  30. ↑ Nieto-Munoz, Sophie (August 1, 2023). "Pompidou is a 'Circus of Excess and Waste' says GOP Report". jcitytimes.com. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  31. ↑ Sussman, Spencer (August 1, 2023). "Jersey City slams South Jersey pol who questioned Pompidou museum spending". The Jersey Journal. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  32. ↑ Neff, Tom (July 28, 2023), $58 Million State Grant for French Arts Museum in Jersey City (PDF), NJ Senate Republicans
  33. ↑ Morrill, Aaron (November 29, 2023). "Though City Won't Say It, Pompidou x Could Cost Over 16M a Year to Operate". jcitytimes.com. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  34. ↑ Morrill, Aaron (April 26, 2024). "State Agency Threatens to Pull Funding for Pompidou x". jcitytimes.com. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
  35. ↑ Nieto-Munoz, Sophie (June 29, 2024). "State Pulls Funding for Pompidou x, Calling it 'No Longer Viable'". Jersey City Times. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  36. ↑ Morrill, Aaron (September 7, 2024). "Solomon Comes Out Against Mayor's New Pompidou Plan". jcitytimes.com. Retrieved September 9, 2024.

40°43′11″N74°03′02″W / 40.7197°N 74.0505°W / 40.7197; -74.0505

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.