After four decades in its original space, the Children's Museum of Manhattan (CMOM) is transforming a historic 19th-century church into a 21st-century environment for learning, discovery, and play. The holistic adaptive reuse project will restore and revitalize the building, honoring its historic form while sensitively adding contemporary elements to improve functionality, circulation, and accessibility. Through the mixing of the new and vital with the old and venerated, the expanded museum will better serve the community with increased exhibition and activity spaces.
Inside CMOM, visitors will embark upon a journey of discovery and surprise as they learn from and experience the museum's varied exhibits and programming. The building's distinctive barrel vault will be highlighted, as will its tall, arched windows that will feature a mixture of original translucent stained glass and clear glass panels to maximize natural light and permit views to the outdoors. The design expands the interior space of the original building by inserting floors and creating a new programmatic space within the building's rooftop—to be animated by performances, exhibits, and workshops. An attic walk and terrace will provide visitors with spectacular vistas of Central Park and the city, as well as a different way to experience the historic architecture.
