Brief history of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
1866: The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s earliest roots trace back to 1866 in Paris, France, when a group of Americans envisioned creating a "national institution and gallery of art" to bring art and education to the American people.
13 April 1870: The Metropolitan Museum of Art was founded in 1870 under the leadership of lawyer John Jay through the Union League Club with the help of civic leaders, businessmen, artists, art collectors, and philanthropists.
30 March 1880: After a brief move to the Douglas Mansion at 128 West 14th Street, the Museum opened to the public at its current site on Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street.
1902: The Museum's Beaux-Arts Fifth Avenue facade and Great Hall, designed by the architect and founding Museum Trustee Richard Morris Hunt, opened to the public in December this year.
1991: A comprehensive architectural plan for the Museum by the architects Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates was completed.