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In January, the South Street Seaport Museum will throw open the doors to its new $20 million, 40,000 -square -foot gallery the first permanent indoor exhibition space the 35-year-old institution has ever had.
The timing is key. "This is the first major new museum space to open downtown since Sept. 11,'' points out Peter Neil, president of the Seaport museum.
It will not be the last. Throughout lower Manhattan, museums are readying additions and raising money for major expansions, at the same time that a growing number of arts institutions are saying they are thinking of moving downtown themselves.
The flurry of activity and planning, however, comes at an odd time. Though attendance is improving at museums in lower Manhattan, it is still off by as much as 30% from the pre-Sept. 11 days, a far bigger decline than that logged by institutions elsewhere in the city.
"We have a little added pain because of where we are," says David Marwell, director of the Museum of Jewish Heritage. "The downtown area is still very sensitive to terrorist alerts, and people think it's difficult to get to."
It's a gamble, but downtown museums are betting that they can build themselves into successes, as the neighborhood inevitably rebounds. To better their odds, the museums in lower Manhattan are banding together for the first time in an effort to try to create a buzz.