Florida Holocaust Museum hosts beam signing

The Florida Holocaust Museum in downtown St. Petersburg hosted a beam signing ceremony Friday, marking a major milestone in its ongoing renovation and expansion project.

The multi-million dollar project includes a new entrance with enhanced security features, an outdoor balcony and a theater space to showcase more of the museum’s more than 22,000 artifacts. The new space will also serve as the permanent home of the Elie Wiesel Collection, housing the Holocaust survivor, educator and advocate’s Nobel Prize, an exact recreation of his personal office and library, and many more of Wiesel’s personal items that have never been publicly displayed.

Wiesel cut the ribbon at the museum location’s opening in 1998, and was a professor at St. Petersburg’s Eckerd College for nearly 30 years.

Interim CEO and previous board chair Michael Igel opened Friday morning’s ceremony by thanking key community leaders and political advocates, and emphasizing the continued importance of the museum’s mission.

“This expansion represents more than just physical growth: It symbolizes our unwavering commitment to honoring the past, to educating in the present and illuminating the path toward a better future,” Igel said. “It’s really a personification of what our museum is and does every day. We never forget the past, but we are always looking to the future and using the lessons of the past to inspire people to take action today to make a better world for tomorrow.”

Pinellas County Commissioners, St. Petersburg City Councilmembers and Mayor Ken Welch were also in attendance, with Welch noting that St. Petersburg is “proud” to be home to one of the largest Holocaust museums in the country.

“We are a city that not only honors our history, but we actively learn from it,” Welch said. “We embrace our role as stewards of remembrance and of education, and we are committed to ensuring that the voices of Holocaust victims are heard and that their stories serve as beacons of hope and inspiration.”

St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch signs the tallest beam of the Florida Holocaust Museum’s new wing at Friday’s ceremony.

Senator Nick DiCeglie (R-St. Petersburg) and former Speaker Chris Sprowls expressed their support for the Florida Holocaust Museum before signing the beam that will become the tallest point of the expansion project.

Holocaust educator Sandy Mermelstein and daughter of the Florida Holocaust Museum’s founder, Walter P. Loebenberg, brought a few in the crowd Friday to tears as she recounted her father’s journey of surviving the Holocaust and coming to St. Petersburg with a dream of building an institution dedicated to honoring the memory of those who perished in World War II. 

“To all of you who have stood by us, who have lent your voices and your resources to this noble cause, I offer my deepest gratitude. Your unwavering support has been the bedrock on which we have built this monument of remembrance,” Mermelstein said. “As we look to the future, let us not forget the lessons of the past. Let us vow to stand united against the forces of antisemitism to ensure that the horrors of the Holocaust are never repeated.”

Officials with the Florida Holocaust Museum competed for months for the opportunity to become the permanent home of Elie Wiesel’s collection of personal belongings. The new exhibit is projected to debut in 2025. Rendering provided.

As part of its renovation and expansion plans, the museum recently acquired a boat used in the seaborne rescue that saved most of Denmark’s Jewish population, and a cattle car used to transport Jews to concentration camps.

The new wing of the museum is expected to debut in 2025.