Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press The International Spy Museum’s current home.The popular International Spy Museum in Washington is only 11 years old, but it is already looking to move into bigger quarters at a redeveloped Carnegie Library, The Associated Press reported.
The proposal would include a 40,000 square-foot underground space as well as an above-ground glass-enclosed visitors center, museum store and cafe.
Peter Earnest, the museum’s executive director, said the institution needs more space, particularly for temporary and changing exhibits. “That’s actually one of the reasons people go back to museums, because there’s an exhibit for usually a limited period of time for something interesting,†he said.
The museum, not far from Ford’s Theater at 800 F Street NW, already draws 600,000 to 700,000 visitors a year, despite its $19.95 admission fee, an anomaly in the nation’s capital, where most museums are free.
The redevelopment plan, done in conjunction with Events DC, the city’s convention center authority, would be the centerpiece of a new entertainment and cultural district, said Gregory O’Dell, Events DC’s president. The museum would share the redeveloped library with the Historical Society of Washington at 801 K Street NW, a few blocks from the museum’s current site.
