Art Museum Has Been Portrait Of Difficulty

Art Museum Has Been Portrait Of Difficulty: "AMPA - People complained from the start.

The new art museum was awfully small. The exhibit space was minimal. Workshop space was limited. The museum, located behind the Curtis Hixon Convention Center, was barely visible from the street.

Many of the problems cited almost 30 years ago persist today at the Tampa Museum of Art. The convention center was torn down and relocated to Garrison Channel, but art museum officials still list similar complaints about the existing building: too small, too hidden, too poorly planned.

At 5 p.m. today, the doors of the 1979 building will close to the public for good. By the end of January, everything will be moved out. Demolition work could begin as soon as Feb. 1."