The beautiful old Halls of Gems and Minerals are two of the greatest, darkest, most carpeted areas in the American Museum of Natural History. Featuring not just gorgeous, glowing rocks, but an of-its-era design straight from the 1970s, when the spaces originally opened. Check it out, from the Museum's archives:
Visitors in Minerals Hall, 1976. (Courtesy of the AMNH)
So it is very sad that soon, the Hall of Minerals and Hall of Gems will look more like a sterile mall display. Behold, one of the renderings they just released today:
A rendering for the redesign. Fine, carpeting is kinda gross, but what about some hardwood floors? (Courtesy of Ralph Appelbaum Associates)
The all new halls will get new names, too, so say goodbye to the Morgan Memorial Hall of Gems and Harry Frank Guggenheim Hall of Minerals, not that you ever called them that. The new halls will be named for Allison and Roberto Mignone, and they'll feature a new showstopper: a 12-Foot-Tall amethyst geode, which was also unveiled today, and will be on temporary view in the Museum's Grand Gallery through the 2017 holiday season.
The halls as you know them will close on October 26th, when the 11,000-square-foot space begins its transformation "into a gleaming showcase for a world-renowned collection." One of the changes that's less obvious in these renderings will be that the halls will no longer form a cul-de-sac, "they will feature a dramatic link, via a stunning Crystalline Pass." Here's more, from the press release:
With new large-scale specimens, the redesigned exhibits will tell the fascinating story of how approximately 4,500 different types of minerals arose on our dynamic planet, how scientists classify them, and how humans have fashioned them into gems and used them throughout history for personal adornment, tools, and technology. George E. Harlow, curator in the Museum’s Division of Physical Sciences, is curating the Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals. “Forty-plus years ago, when the current galleries were designed, scientists had not yet begun to explore the concept of mineral evolution,” said Harlow. “Today, we work within a different framework, where much of the diversity of minerals on our dynamic planet is directly connected to the evolution of life. Our new exhibits will allow us to tell how the story of minerals is linked with their natural environment and biology on the one hand and with culture and technology on the other.”
One very cool thing: there will be a case dedicated to NYC minerals, including their "subway garnet," which is a 9-pound almandine garnet that was unearthed in 1885 during a sewer dig on 35th Street.
Both halls will be closed for quite some time, not reopening again until 2019.
