New Harmony's Atheneum is the visitor center for

New Harmony, Indiana New Harmony is a historic town on the Wabash River in Harmony Township, Posey County, Indiana, Harmony Township, Posey County, Indiana, Posey County, Indiana. It lies north of Mount Vernon, Indiana, Mount Vernon, the county seat, and is part of ...

. It is named for the Greek Athenaion, a temple dedicated to

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarde ...

in ancient

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

.Historic New Harmony - The Atheneum
/ref> Funded by the

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

Lilly Endowment in 1976, with the help of the Krannert Charitable Trust, it opened on October 10, 1979. The architect was

Richard Meier Richard Meier (born October 12, 1934) is an American abstract artist and architect, whose geometric designs make prominent use of the color white. A winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1984, Meier has designed several iconic buildings ...

, whose other works include the Getty Center in Los Angeles, California. When it opened in 1979 it won a Progressive Architecture Award, and in 1982 won an

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...

(AIA) Honor Award. In 2008 it won the AIA's prestigious Twenty-five Year Award, which is given to no more than one building per year. Architect

Peter Eisenman Peter David Eisenman (born August 11, 1932) is an American architect, writer, and professor. Considered one of the New York Five, Eisenman is known for his high modernist and deconstructive designs, as well as for his authorship of several archi ...

nominated the Atheneum for this award because it was "a wonderfully pure example of the recurring themes among (Meier's) substantial oeuvre; it is a classic 'Meier' design." The Atheneum is designed so that visitors have to go a specific way through the building, leading out into New Harmony itself. The three-story building's ramp and overlaying grids provide frequent views of the town and countryside. As a visitor center for New Harmony, it includes a 9 minute movie on the history of New Harmony, in its 200-seat auditorium. There are four galleries. The first hosts a gift shop. The second gallery discusses the various individuals in New Harmony's history and hosts a 1/32 scale copy of the Harmonist Brick Church. The third gallery has a 1 inch = 10 feet (1:120) scale of New Harmony in 1824, made during the filming of the movie. The fourth is closed to the public. Tours of Historic New Harmony, a collection of buildings of historical significance administered by the University of Southern Indiana system, begin at the Atheneum.Indiana State Museum
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References

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External links

New Harmony's Atheneum wins award
''Louisville Courier-Journal'' December 23, 2007.
Historic New Harmony
Historic New Harmony is a unified program of the University of Southern Indiana and the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites. Buildings and structures completed in 1979 Buildings and structures in Posey County, Indiana New Harmony, Indiana Richard Meier buildings Event venues established in 1979 Tourist attractions in Posey County, Indiana 1979 establishments in Indiana