The National Museum of American Jewish History (NMAJH) is a Smithsonian- affiliated museum in Center City Philadelphia, located on Independence Mall within the Independence National Historical Park

Independence National Historical Park

Independence National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park in Philadelphia that preserves several sites associated with the American Revolution and the nation's founding history. Administered by the National Park Service, the park comprises much of the downtown historic...

.

Building

With its founding in 1976 the 15000 square feet (1,393.5 m²) museum shared a building with the Congregation Mikveh Israel.

In 2005, it was announced that the museum would be moved to a new building to be built at Fifth Street and Market Street

Market Street (Philadelphia)

Market Street, originally known as High Street, is a major east–west street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For the majority of its length, it serves as Pennsylvania Route 3....

 on the Independence Mall. The site was originally owned by CBS' KYW radio and KYW-TV

KYW-TV

KYW-TV, virtual channel 3, is an owned and operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. KYW-TV shares a studio facility with its sister station, CW flagship WPSG just north of Center City Philadelphia...

. The project broke ground on September 30, 2007. The 100000 square feet (9,290.3 m²) glass and terra-cotta building was designed by James Polshek

James Polshek

James Stewart Polshek is an American architect based in New York City. He is the founder of Polshek Partnership, the firm at which he was Principal Design Partner for more than four decades...

 and includes an atrium, a 25000 square feet (2,322.6 m²) area for exhibits, a Center for Jewish Education, and a theater. The project, including endowment, cost $150 million. The opening ceremony was held November 14, 2010 and was attended by over 1,000 people including Vice President Joe Biden

Joe Biden

Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. is the 47th and current Vice President of the United States, serving under President Barack Obama...

, Mayor Michael Nutter, Governor Ed Rendell

Ed Rendell

Edward Gene "Ed" Rendell is an American politician who served as the 45th Governor of Pennsylvania. Rendell, a member of the Democratic Party, was elected Governor of Pennsylvania in 2002, and his term of office began January 21, 2003...

, and Rabbi Irving Greenberg

Irving Greenberg

Irving Greenberg, also known as Yitz Greenberg, is a Modern Orthodox rabbi, Jewish-American scholar and author. He is known as a strong supporter of Israel and a promoter of greater understanding between Judaism and Christianity....

. The building opened to the public November 26, 2010.

Exhibitions

Exhibits use pieces from the museum's collection which includes over 20,000 objects and ranges from the Colonial period to the present day. Exhibits focus on Jews in America. Professor Jonathan Sarna

Jonathan Sarna

Jonathan D. Sarna is the Joseph H. and Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History in the department of and the director of the Hornstein Program in Jewish Professional Leadership. He is regarded as one of the most prominent historians of American Judaism...

 of Brandeis University

Brandeis University

Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...

led the development of the core exhibit for the museum.

External links

• National Museum of American Jewish History website