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World War II Museum expanding
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More from TravelNEW ORLEANS — The $300 million expansion of the National World War II Museum is under way.
The project, slated for completion by 2015, "will be a fitting monument to the sacrifices of a generation of Americans," said Gordon "Nick" Mueller, president and chief executive officer.
The first two buildings in the expansion are scheduled to be open next year.
Plans call for an advanced format theater and a restaurant and entertainment venue dubbed the Stage Door Canteen to be constructed across the street from the museum. The expansion eventually will include seven buildings on six acres.
The 250-seat theater will present a signature film developed in cooperation with Tom Hanks. It will feature what's called a 4-D theater providing a "multisensory experience," Mueller said.
The museum, called the D-Day Museum when it opened June 6, 2000, was designated by Congress as the official World War II Museum for the country in 2004 and subsequently changed its name.
When completed, the museum complex will house a variety of exhibits, including a U.S. Freedom Pavilion, Great Campaigns of the War, Land Sea and Air Pavilion to house major artifacts such as ships and planes, and a Liberation Pavilion, which will focus on the Holocaust and the advances in human rights and technology since the Allied victory in 1945.
Currently, the museum, 945 Magazine St., is hosting an exhibit called "Real to Reel: Hollywood and World War II," through Aug. 31, with artifacts, images, movie posters and audiovisuals. Details at http://www.nationalww2museum.org or 877-813-3329.
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