The new Salvador Dali Museum will open its gates in St. Petersburg, Florida, at the exact date (and hour) of January 11, 2011, 1/11/11, at 11:11 AM with a huge opening party that will be also attended by her Royal Highness Infanta Cristina of Spain as guest of honor.
In 1982, St. Petersburg, Florida, offered financial support to collector and industrialist A Reynolds Morse and his wife Eleanor Reese to house their impressive collection and today the museum features more Dali masterpieces than any other museum in the world and also has the largest collection outside of Spain.
The museum is visited by over 200,000 people per year which bring an estimated $50 million to St. Petersburg’s economy. The museum has a new $36 million stunning building with a futuristic design that will double the current space of the museum to 66,450 square feet.
The construction of this new innovative building has started in December 2008 and the final result in absolutely breathtaking. The roof is 12-inch thick solid concrete, the walls are 18 inches and the building can withstand a category five hurricane.
That should be just enough to protect the precious Salvador Dali collection with 2,140 paintings, including 96 oil paintings.
[Luxist]
