The Philadelphia Museum of Art will reopen its doors over Labor Day weekend. The reopening comes about six months after the iconic art collection closed off its collection amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The Art Museum and the Rodin Museum farther down along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway will reopen to the general public on Sept. 6 with pay-what-you-want admission, the PMA announced Monday.
Members will get an early chance to visit to art collections on Sept. 3, 4, and 5.
Both museums will operate on limited hours and all guests are encouraged to book tickets ahead of time starting Aug. 17 due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns. The art museum will be closed Mondays and Tuesdays while the Rodin Museum will be closed Tuesdays through Thursdays.
Capacity in the museums will be limited and all guests over 2 must wear masks, the PMA said. All visitors and staff will be required to remain 6 feet apart. Hand sanitizer will be available throughout the building.
There will be no food or dining services offered at the museum when they reopen.
While the art museum’s nearly 200 galleries will be reopen with the coronavirus-related safety measures in place, the Perelman Building and historic houses will remain closed.
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The museums' reopening plans follow the reopening of other museum district attractions like the Franklin Institute and the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University with coronavirus-related safety measures in place. It also comes on the heels of the Philadelphia Inquirer reporting that the Philadelphia Flower Show is going to be entirely outdoors for the first time in 2021.
The future isn't so clear for all Philadelphia museums. Last week, children's favorite Please Touch Museum in Fairmount Park announced it was pausing reopening until 2021, at the earliest. The Please Touch Museum has also cut its staff by about 75% since the start of the outbreak, reported WHYY.
