EMPOWERING
A MUSEUM
by Richard Solash
Only in Socialist Russia were power plants
hailed as beacons of high culture. Until now, that is.
The Contemporary Jewish Museum (CJM) in San Francisco
is opening the doors of its angular, ultra-modern new
building on June 8, energizing a space that was previously
an abandoned power station. To be completely fair, the
Jessie Street Substation had already taken on post-utilitarian
value when it helped restore energy—and hope—to
the earthquake-ravaged city in 1907. Its reincarnation
for the CJM, however, adds a whole new level of meaning.
For the museum’s own purposes, the new facility will
house expanded gallery and exhibition space, a multipurpose
media room, and an education center, providing varied
perspectives of Jewish culture. The building is also one
of the final pieces in the San Francisco Redevelopment
Agency’s decades-old plan to transform the Yerba
Buena area in the South of Market Street (SoMa) neighborhood.
Add to that the cutting-edge architecture of Daniel Libeskind,
whose extension to the main building is plated with over
3,000 iridescent blue panels. The extension’s interior
is based on the shapes of chet and yud, two Hebrew letters
that symbolize life. What results is not only an empowered
museum, but a new local landmark empowering the city as
well. www.jmsf.org
[Published:
May, 2008]
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