The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art in Winter Park is gearing up to tear down its existing McKean Pavilion and replace it with the new Jeannette G. and Hugh F. McKean Pavilion starting this summer, the museum announced. The upgrade is aimed at expanding and modernizing the museum’s educational and event spaces while keeping the galleries open to visitors throughout the project. Guests should be ready for temporary shifts in parking and program locations once work begins.
Sitting just behind the main museum, the current McKean Pavilion, a former bank converted for museum use in 1995, will give way to a new building that adds about 3,000 square feet of flexible space while keeping the same footprint and Mediterranean-inspired look. Designed by Winter Park architects Susan and Ed Gantt, the pavilion overhaul will bring updated interiors and improved functionality for classes, lectures, and community events. Construction is slated to start this summer and is expected to take at least a year, according to Orlando Magazine.
“The current building was never designed for the way we use it today,” museum director and chief curator Jennifer Thalheimer told Orlando Magazine. During the construction period, the museum plans to keep its programs running in various locations on campus and at off-site venues. Museum officials also caution that on-site parking will be tight while the work is underway, with additional options available at the nearby Park Place garage and on surrounding streets.
A Bigger Stage for Tiffany Programming
The Morse is home to what it describes as the world’s most comprehensive collection of works by Louis Comfort Tiffany, including the Tiffany Chapel from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition and architectural elements from Laurelton Hall, according to the Morse Museum. Staff says the added flexible space in the new pavilion will help the museum broaden lectures, conservation demonstrations, and family programs that draw directly from those collections. Curators expect the project to deepen educational partnerships and make the museum’s scholarship easier for local schools and visitors to tap into.
Visitor Tips and Timeline
The construction schedule is expected to stretch for at least a year, and the museum will share updates on temporary program locations and any schedule changes on its website. If you are planning a visit this summer, build in extra time for parking and consider nearby public-garage or street options on busy days. Routine access to the galleries is set to continue, and many of the museum’s free lectures and film programs will shift to other on-campus or community venues while the pavilion is rebuilt.
For Winter Park, the project highlights Morse’s central place in the city’s arts scene and its ongoing focus on public education. Once the dust settles, the new pavilion is expected to support more classes and events, giving local audiences a larger and more adaptable space for learning and community programs.
