HARVARD TO RENOVATE EXISTING MUSEUMS, DELAY NEW ART MUSEUM IN ALLSTON

Harvard University has decided to delay building an art museum in Allston, a neighborhood just across the river from its campus, focusing instead on a complicated and expensive renovation of the existing Fogg and Busch-Reisinger museums in Cambridge, reports the Boston Globe_. The decision is a blow to the Harvard University Art Museums’ plan to create a proper home for contemporary art, historically given little attention by the university. But it does mean Harvard’s administration has formally given the green light to start a renovation project that could take until 2013 to complete, could cost well over a hundred million dollars, and is considered long overdue. Designed by architect Renzo Piano, the renovation will force the Fogg and Busch-Reisinger museums to close their doors for about five years, beginning next June.