The New York Historical Society has announced plans a $140m expansion of its building on Central Park West. The new expansion located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan will accommodate additional programming, underground library storage and a home for a planned American LGBT Museum.

Via The Art Newspaper:

The American LGBTQ+ Museum will occupy the entirety of the new structure’s top floor, encompassing two galleries, access to the roof garden and areas for offices and storage. a space “dedicated to an exploration and celebration of the histories and cultures of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people, the museum has been in the planning stages since 2017.

Its LGBTQ organizers began brainstorming with the NYHS on a potential space in 2019 and received a charter from the New York State Board of Regents the same year.

“We look forward to bringing a dynamic new museum to life within this cherished, deeply respected and growing New York City landmark,” Richard Burns, the board chairman of the fledgling museum, said in a statement. He said that planners were committed to “building a thoughtful, welcoming, queer and inclusive experience” for visitors.

“LGBT history is especially urgent because our communities have emerged from denial, repression, and invisibility into acceptance, pride and full societal participation,” said the museum’s board secretary Urvashi Vadi, an attorney, activist, and writer. “This museum helps forge the future by documenting our past.”

The NYHS’s library comprises hundreds of thousands of items including documents related to the nation’s founding, books and newspapers, maps, sheet music and restaurant menus.

The new addition will add more than 70,000 sq. feet.