The National Museum of American Jewish History (NMAJH) is a Smithsonian-affiliated museum at 101 South Independence Mall East (S. 5th Street) at Market Street in Center City Philadelphia. It was founded in 1976.
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Building
With its founding in 1976 the 15,000-square-foot (1,400 m2) museum shared a building with the Congregation Mikveh Israel.
In 2005, it was announced that the museum would be moved to a new building to be built at Fifth Street and Market Street on the Independence Mall. The site was originally owned by CBS' KYW radio and KYW-TV. The project broke ground on September 30, 2007. The 100,000-square-foot (9,300 m2) glass and terra-cotta building was designed by James Polshek and includes an atrium, a 25,000 square feet (2,300 m2) area for exhibits, a Center for Jewish Education, and a theater. The structural engineer was Leslie E. Robertson Associates.
The project, including endowment, cost $150 million. The opening ceremony was held November 14, 2010 and was attended by over 1,000 people including Vice President Joe Biden, Mayor Michael Nutter, Governor Ed Rendell, and Rabbi Irving Greenberg. The building opened to the public November 26, 2010.
National American Jewish Museum Video
Exhibitions
Exhibits use pieces from the museum's collection which includes over 20,000 objects and ranges from the Colonial period to the present day. Exhibits focus on Jews in America. Professor Jonathan Sarna of Brandeis University led the development of the core exhibit for the museum.
To Bigotry No Sanction: George Washington and Religious Freedom
From June 29 through September 30, 2012, the NMAJH held a special exhibition that featured one of the most important documents pertaining to religious freedom in the United States. The letter was written in 1790 to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island, addressing the new country's religious freedom. The letter expressed the new government's commitment for religious freedom and equality for all faiths. The exhibition included numerous artifacts as well as early printings of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
From the Core Exhibition in 2010
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