National WWII Museum
The
National World War II Museum in New Orleans said today it has awarded a $42 million construction contract for the next phase of the museum’s $300 million expansion.
Within weeks, builder Satterfield and Pontikes Construction Group will begin work on a 250-seat advanced-format theater that will feature 4-D multisensory experiences and dimensional sound in a cinematic presentation, “Beyond All Boundaries,” for which actor Tom Hanks will serve as executive producer.
Opening in mid-2009 across the street from the existing museum, the theater will be the first of six new pavilions, with the entire project due to be completed in 2014. Another audio-visual presentation will deliver “The USO Experience.” Founded by the late UNO historian Stephen Ambrose, the 7-year-old museum is expected to draw nearly 700,000 visitors a year after the expansion.
Private, federal and state funds are paying for the $300 million project. Related improvements to bury electrical wires along Magazine Street and add new brick sidewalks, historic lampposts and lighted street trees are under way.
weblink with renderings:
http://www.ddaymuseum.org/about/expansion.html