Seattle Art Museum

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Seattle Art Museum, viewed from First Avenue

The Seattle Art Museum (commonly known as "SAM") is an art museum located in downtown Seattle, Washington USA. Admission is free on the first Thursday of each month.

The Seattle Art Museum opened on June 23, 1933 in an Art Deco building in Volunteer Park, given to the city by Richard E. Fuller, president of the Art Institute of Seattle, and his mother, Margaret MacTavish Fuller. The museum's main collection moved to its present location (100 University Street, 47°36′26″N, 122°20′17″W) in December 1991, at which time the old building was renamed the Seattle Asian Art Museum. The new building at University and First Avenue was completed by Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates at 150,000 square feet with a 28,100,000 dollar budget.^[1]

Directly in front of the museum is Hammering Man, a 1994 sculpture that also appears in other cities around the globe.

Beginning in 2006, the Seattle Art Museum will be expanding its 1991 location in a joint effort with Washington Mutual. To do this, the museum's downtown location will close January 5, 2006. The expanded building will offer four new floors with 70 percent more gallery space, an expanded museum store, and a new restaurant. It is expected to open in spring 2007. A small selection of the museum's collection is currently on display at the Seattle Asian Art Museum during the renovations.

Also being constructed is the new Olympic Sculpture Park on the Seattle waterfront. This new venture is expected to open in January, 2007.