Whitney Museum Breaks Ground Downtown

NEW YORK CITY—The Whitney Museum is heading back downtown. In avant-garde fashion befitting a New York cultural institution, the museum broke ground yesterday on its new building, a Renzo Piano-designed structure that will rise between Gansevoort and West streets, nestled against the southern entrance to the High Line. Some $508 million has been raised toward the $720-million total cost for the building’s construction.

Breaking Ground, a commissioned piece by choreographer Elizabeth Streb, kicked off the groundbreaking itself. Streb stood beneath a barrel filled with dirt, which emptied onto her head during the performance.