TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Morsanis Give Tampa Art Museum A $3 Million Boost

ADVERTISEMENT

By CHRISTIAN M. WADE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 1, 2008

TAMPA - Private donations keep rolling in for the new Tampa Museum of Art.

On Monday, museum officials announced that Tampa businessman and philanthropist Frank Morsani and his wife, Carol, have pledged a $3 million gift to the museum's capital and endowment campaigns.

The Morsanis have supported numerous exhibitions at the museum over the years and contributed to the first construction project in 1979, when the museum was founded.

"The museum is grateful for the longstanding support that the Morsanis have given to this institution over the years," said Todd Smith, the museum's executive director.

The first floor entrance to the new 66,000-square-foot facility will feature a dramatic, three-story atrium that will be named the Frank and Carol Morsani Lobby Atrium.

Although fundraising efforts took awhile to get under way, private donations have been flowing in to the museum project, which includes the city-funded renovations of Curtis Hixon Park and the adjoining Kiley Gardens.

The money is allowing the city and museum to add design enhancements cut when officials signed off on scaled-back plans for $30 million in riverfront projects.

The museum is scheduled to open in fall 2009.

For information, go to www.tampamuseum.org.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT