The McManus Dundee's Art Gallery And Museum

Housed in a splendid Gothic Revival-style building and displaying Dundee's main collection, the museum is managed and operated by Dundee City Council's Leisure and Communities Department. The building has undergone an exciting and extensive refurbishment programme, funded by Dundee City Council, the Heritage Lottery Fund, the European Union and Historic Scotland, with additional contributions from The McManus Fundraising Appeal. Voted Dundee's best loved building in 2000, The McManus has been at the heart of art and culture in the city since its opening in 1867 - when it was then known as the Albert Institute for Science, Literature and the Arts. Over the years, the building has been beset by problems, owing to the fact that it has been built on land which was formerly marshland, immediately north of the old city walls of Dundee. It was renamed 'McManus Galleries' in the mid 1980s in recognition of Maurice McManus OBE, twice Lord Provost of Dundee who championed works during the period which stabilised the building. However by 2000, it was clear that more work would be needed, and to provide a truly modern museum experience, a decision was taken to completely restore the building and its services with a focus on how it functions and how best to provide an accessible service to the visiting public. The project has brought the 143 year-old facility into the 21st century and provides a greatly improved visitor experience and a 'must see' attraction in the heart of the City and Tayside, with: a new south entrance off a newly pedestrianised Meadowside a new retail area and cafe with an outdoor terrace beautiful open gallery spaces with state-of-the-art displays and interactives a new top-lit atrium, with a lift and a spectacular staircase a Creative Learning Suite, with the latest equipment for workshops and classes the complete renewal of heating, lighting, ventilation and electrical fixtures the underpinning of the building to provide stable foundations the repair and repointing of all stonework the reslating of all roofs and turrets the restoration of the leadwork on the finials which are a defining feature of the architecture of the building