The Florida Holocaust Museum's expansion project reaches construction milestone
The Florida Holocaust Museum, located in downtown St. Pete, is currently undergoing an expansion project which will include a new entrance with enhanced security features, an outdoor second-story balcony, and a theater | The Florida Holocaust Museum
The haunting stories of the systematic murder of millions of Europe's Jews during the Second World War will continue to be shared on a larger scale thanks to an expansion of The Florida Holocaust Museum in St. Petersburg.
Friday morning, state legislators and supporters took turns signing a steel beam, symbolizing the topping-out of the first phase of construction that will bring a new entrance and exhibit space for the museum at 55 5th Street South in downtown St. Pete.
"The expansion project demonstrates that we are as strong as ever and expanding at a time when the lessons of the Holocaust have never been more important," Interim CEO Michael Igel said to attendees while standing at the active construction site.
The museum is embarking on a series of capital improvement projects amid a wave of antisemitism attacks across the country.
The initial phase entails a new entrance with enhanced security features, an outdoor second-story balcony, and a theater, which will showcase more of the museum's 22,000 artifacts.
The FLorida Holocaust Museum held a topping-out ceremony on Friday for the museum’s expansion project currently under construction in downtown St. Pete | St Pete Rising
The new space will also house the permanent collection of historical items from Holocaust survivor and political activist, Elie Wiesel.
It will include his Nobel prize, the entire contents of his office and library, unfinished manuscripts, letters from world leaders, artworks, and recordings.
In addition to being one of the most famous survivors of the Holocaust, a world-renowned author, and champion of human rights, Wiesel cut the ribbon at The Florida Holocaust Museum’s downtown location in 1998 and was a professor at St. Petersburg’s Eckerd College for nearly 30 years.
Hennessy Construction Services and St. Pete-based Behar + Peteranecz are spearheading the design and construction.
After requesting $7.5 million from the state, the Florida Holocaust Museum received $1.5 million in funding from the state senate in 2023.
In 2022, the museum received a $5 million gift from the Florida Legislature.
The Florida Holocaust Museum is home to one of the few remaining railroad boxcars of the type used by the Nazis to transport Jews and other prisoners to places like Auschwitz and Treblinka
The museum also received $350,000 from Pinellas County, $350,000 from the City of St. Petersburg, and roughly $100,000 through private donors.
Former Florida Rep. Chris Sprowls and Rep. Linda Chaney sponsored the museum's funding requests.
"For over three decades [the museum] has been an integral part of our community," Mayor Ken Welch said during the event.
"The expansion ensures that lessons of history are never forgotten ... the darkest chapters of humanity."
The Florida Holocaust Museum’s expansion is expected to debut in 2025.