Museums on the Move: Coin Collectors, Chelsea Art Museum Sell Homes

Eliot Brown — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 20:51:06 -0400

Two Manhattan museums have sold their buildings recently, with the transactions both popping up in public records within the past 24 hours.

First, Kent Swig's Swig Equities has dropped some cash for a coin museum, paying $23.9 million for the American Numismatic Society’s building at 138 William Street. The society (numismatics are coin collectors) is planning a move to a leased space nearby—tentatively next summer—for financial reasons, according to a spokeswoman.

The second, the Chelsea-based Dia Art Foundation, sold its 38,000-square-foot building at 548 West 22^nd Street for $38,555,000, records show. The museum is currently looking for space, a Dia spokeswoman said.

Observer » Museums on the Move: Coin Collectors, Chelsea Art Museum Sell Homes

Museums on the Move: Coin Collectors, Chelsea Art Museum Sell Homes