SALEM, Massachusetts — The old and new will beautifully coexist when the Peabody Essex Museum debuts its new expanded facilities alongside the historic 194-year-old East India Marine Hall on Sept. 28.
The new wing will add 15,000 square feet of galleries, a new museum garden and a new entry for group tours. A light-filled atrium will connect the new and old buildings and a new facade will complement and highlight the East India Marine Hall, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The $200 million expansion is part of a $650 million capital campaign that also involves a 120,000-square-foot offsite facility in Rowley, Massachusetts, that provides up-to-date storage, security and space to study the museum’s 1.8 million-piece collection. It opened in July 2018.
The Peabody Essex, founded in 1799, features a world-renowned collection of American art and architecture, Asian export art, photography, maritime art and history, Native American, Oceanic and African art.
