This story originally ran in The Dallas Morning News on Feb. 16, 2005.
It's official. The Museum of Nature and Science (formerly the Dallas Museum of Natural History) will build a home in the West End, and it already has a $10 million housewarming gift from Hunt Petroleum.
The museum optioned the 4.7-acre site at Field Street and Woodall Rodgers Freeway six months ago and completed the purchase this week using part of the Hunt gift, the museum will announce today. The site is occupied by parking lots and the marketing center for the W Dallas hotel, which is being built nearby.
"This is a milestone for us," said the museum's chief executive officer, Nicole Small. "Dallas is very focused on science and technology and desperately needs a natural history museum to meet the needs of science education in the community."
John Creecy, CEO of Hunt Petroleum, echoed Ms. Small on the museum's education role. "Our future depends upon our children and their interest in science," he said.
Acquiring a site is the first big move in the campaign to build a $150 million museum downtown. Three years ago, the museum announced plans for a new building in the Arts District, which was to be designed by architect Frank Gehry. The museum drafted a letter of agreement with Mr. Gehry for consulting services, but his name does not appear in the current news media materials.
"A lot of time has passed since we worked with him," Ms. Small said. "We still intend to hire a significant architect, but it may or may not be Frank Gehry."
She said Mr. Gehry is not on the payroll.
The new West End building will contain 150,000 to 200,000 square feet, about five times the size of the Fair Park site. It will include live plant and animal exhibits, water features, interactive displays and vastly expanded space for temporary exhibitions, collections and research.
Ralph Appelbaum Associates, which designed the exhibits for Washington's Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Clinton presidential library in Little Rock, Ark., will do the same for Dallas' new museum.
Ms. Small said construction could begin in 2008, with an opening in 2011. She added that the museum is "well on its way" in its fund raising, with several gifts in hand, but she would not say how much has been raised.
The existing Natural History Museum in Fair Park will be used for education and research.
