Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen wants to bring his pop culture museum, MoPOP, to New York City.
The Seattle-based museum, which has exhibits on the Marvel Universe, “Star Trek,” Nirvana and indie gaming, among other fandoms, could become the city’s newest attraction if everything goes to plan, according to the museum officials in a news release.
MoPOP NYC, a nonprofit museum, “made it so” (that’s a “Star Trek” reference if you didn’t pick up on it) and purchased the former B. Altman & Co. building at Fifth Avenue and 34th Street from the New York Public Library at Allen’s request with hopes to expand the museum to the city, officials said.
MoPOP is currently getting permissions from the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission for a new entrance on 34th Street, and if that goes through, it’ll make its entry into the community, they said.
Founded 18 years ago, the museum, which costs about $28 to get into, is a gateway for people to learn about pop culture through collections, exhibitions, educational programs and more using interactive technology — that includes current exhibitions about “Star Trek,” Hello Kitty, Jimmy Hendrix, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, horror films, and indie games (sponsored by Nintendo).
Its musical collection spans 140,000 artifacts with 1,000 hours of interviews with musicians, filmmakers, authors and others who have shaped culture.
It also regularly holds community events, from happy hours to film screenings, gaming days, Black History Month programming and much more.
“We are committed to creating something profoundly new, immersive and exciting, consistent with the diverse and creative dynamism of New York,” officials said in their release.
Learn more about MoPOP Seattle at mopop.org.
