The Anne Frank Center USA Relocates to Lower Manhattan

100 Church Street, future home of the Anne Frank Center USA (Photo Winick Realty, winick.us)

According to an official press release, The Anne Frank Center USA, a partner organization of the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, has signed a lease for a 2,500 square foot ground floor space at 100 Church Street with SL Green Realty Corp.

The not-for-profit Anne Frank Center was founded in 1977 by Otto Frank, Anne Frank’s father, and promotes the universal message of tolerance by developing and disseminating an array of educational programs including exhibitions, workshops, and special events. Lower Manhattan is a convergence of diverse cultures, so it makes complete and total sense that the Anne Frank Center USA would take up residence in the region!

The Anne Frank Center will reopen in September 2011 and the new space will allow the Center to display its existing Anne Frank exhibit that includes a representation of the Dutch teenager’s bedroom, host student groups and the general public for lectures by Holocaust survivors and other public programs that will serve to educate.

The new location is also part of the growing cultural hub in Lower Manhattan, and only a short walk from the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, which will be the recipient of a tree sapling grown in Anne Frank’s backyard in Amsterdam. Both museums share a common mission—to educate the public about the continuing danger of intolerance and hate while underscoring the need for remembrance. How lovely that a sapling from Frank’s own backyard will be received by the September 11th memorial.

“The Anne Frank Center USA’s new home presents an unparalleled opportunity to showcase our mission and offer innovative educational programs in Lower Manhattan, thus adding another destination in an area with significant tourism,” said Yvonne Simons, Executive Director of the Anne Frank Center USA, in a statement. “The move to an area rich with like-minded cultural and educational institutions will better enable the Anne Frank Center to promote its message of tolerance and inclusion to a larger and more diverse audience.”

Will you visit the Anne Frank Center USA when it opens in its new location downtown?