I remember many months ago when the first talk of the new Art Museum had begun, and then earlier this year the actual construction and overall shape of the building starting taking real form.

(A few weeks ago I snapped some photos of the museum in a previous post.)

To say the design was greeted with mixed reviews is probably an understatement. I encountered people who thought it was “pretty cool”, others who thought it was “different”, and also a number of people who considered it an eyesore and very out of place in regards to the downtown area.

I fall into the “pretty cool” category.

I always thought the museum design to be very futuristic looking, it’s far from the typical 4 square walls and a roof kind of building. And I’m still amazed at how it was somehow squeezed into a rather small area at the corner along Salem Avenue and Williamson Road, and just adjacent to the railroad tracks.

Parts of the museum even stretch out rather close to the Williamson Road bridge nearby which stretches over the railroad tracks.

The museum design itself, combined with its modest footprint, all adds to the uniqueness I think.

I couldn’t make it down for the grand opening this weekend. But, sometime in the coming weeks I hope to check it out from the inside, after having marveled at the outside.

Were any of ya’ll able to make it down for the grand opening? First impressions?

And as a final note, as for the naysayers, the museum is there and now in all of our backyards, and I don’t know that talking about it under a negative light is particularly productive. (I’m trying to be nice.)