Suitable For Framing: Last Museum Beam In Just Right Spot

Tribune photo by JASON BEHNKEN

Workers and special guests sign the last steel beam before it was moved into place during a topping-off Ceremony on Friday at The Tampa Museum of Art.

By The Tampa Tribune
Published: November 08, 2008

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Etching their names on what will become a sort-of time capsule for future generations, workers and their guests celebrated a milestone Friday in the construction of a new Tampa Art Museum: the ceremony to top off the building's frame with the installation of the final beam.

Construction of the museum in downtown Tampa began in April. A grand opening celebration is being planned for fall 2009.

When it's complete, the 66,000-square-foot museum will be sheathed in an aluminum shell that the project manager, Skanska USA Building, says will shimmer in the sunlight.

The art museum and a new Glazer Children's Museum will be connected by a redesigned Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park along the Hillsborough River.