BUFFALO, NY (W.K.B.W.) — A new era for the Buffalo AKG Art Museum unveiled itself for members on Sunday afternoon, leaving the first visitors breathless.
"The inside of the buildings. Even the outside is beautiful. And when you walk inside, it's magical, just magical," said Janet Dippold, who traveled two and half hours from Skaneateles to Buffalo to see what the museum's facelift is like. "It is above and beyond," said Dippold.
The project cost around $230 million and more than doubled the space for the museum's collection.
But since the project took three years to complete, Elmwood Avenue was reduced to a single lane for those traveling North.
For Elmwood resident Brittany Beak, the construction became a problem, but that is now happily resolved.
"It definitely has been a challenge but worth it," said Beak.
Beak says that with the opening on Monday, she hopes the museum will bring in people from all over the country, and other visitors agree.
"I think of going to the Whitney in New York and being blown away by the Whitney. This is ten times that," said Elmwood Village resident Linda Nenni.
The newly constructed museum hopes to bring revenue to Western New York and visitors from all over to the 'City of Good Neighbors'.
"For every dollar that we put into the museum. It doubles in our local and state economies. So the museum's impact on tourism and the finances of western Europe and our state is pretty significant," said Jillian Jones, Deputy Director of Buffalo AKG Art Museum.
The Buffalo AKG Art Museum is hosting its ribbon cutting on Monday.
