DENVER – Former cable TV mogul John Sie and his wife Anna have donated $12 million for the construction of a new welcome center at the Denver Art Museum.
The new welcome center, which will be named the Anna and John J. Sie Welcome Center, is part of the museum’s plans to renovate the North Building, which opened to the public in 1971.
Denver’s Fentress Architects and Boston’s Machado Silvetti designed the two-story, 50,000-square-foot expansion, which museum staff said was inspired by renowned Italian architect Gio Ponti’s original designs for the North Building.
Fentress Architects has designed a number of high-profile buildings in the Denver area, including Denver International Airport, the Colorado Convention Center and Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
John Sie, who launched Starz Entertainment Group, has been on the Denver Art Museum’s board of trustees since 2002.
When it’s completed, the new welcome center will include a restaurant, café, ticketing and orientation space, event space, underground art storage and the museum’s conservation lab.
Construction is expected to start by the end of the year, with the goal of completing the renovations and new construction in time for the North Building’s 50th anniversary in 2021.
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