New wing of museum to open in a year

Friday, July 18, 1997 | 9:08 a.m.

Those were the words of Jack Wanamaker as he pushed his foot down on the gold-plated shovel for the project's ground breaking Tuesday.

The addition will house Wanamaker's collection of 200 exotic animal mounts. Wanamaker donated $1 million towards the construction.

"I can't tell you how pleased I am to find such a nice place to put my collection," Wanamaker said. "I think the main thing I was interested in was something that would keep going after I was gone and for other people to enjoy it."

The first floor of the new addition will measure 8,000 square feet. A 6,000-square-foot basement will be available to store exhibits. The addition still won't be large enough to display all the animal mounts, some of which may be in storage, according to architect Craig Bybee.

archive