Dali Museum, An Architectural Masterpiece in St. Petersburg, Florida

Dali Museum, An Architectural Masterpiece in St. Petersburg, Florida PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBERT NEFF

The new Dali Museum opened in January 2011. The $36 million museum was designed by project architect, Yann Weymouth of the HOK firm in Tampa. It's 18-inch-thick walls can withstand a Category 5 hurricane. The glass can withstand a Category 3. The museum can now display all 96 oil paintings along with Dali's watercolors, drawings, graphics, sculptures and other objets d’art. The work represents every period of Dalí's career.

Take the Downtown Looper Trolley.

Main entrance. The Quad is the grass area in between the Dali Museum and the Mahaffey Theater.

The "Star Wars" doors.

First Floor

Gift Shop

Cafe Gala

Theater

Looking at the Gift Shop through the Rainy Rolls.

Rainy Rolls

The Glass Enigma from the inside.

Children's room

Elevators

Each triangle panel has a unique size and has it's own RFID tag. They do not break, they shatter.

Docents are well known!

Getting to the two galleries on the third floor.

Wristbands are required to enter the galleries.

DNA Staircase

The DNA Staircase provides access to the third floor. This combination glass, concrete, and stainless steel design is very clean. As the sun and weather circumvent the sky, available light changes the color and hue of the museum and its elements.

Vista views from the third floor of downtown, Albert Whitted Park, and Tampa Bay.

The Gallery

There is ample space to move freely and view the artwork.

Portrait of My Dead Brother. Dali's detail is incredible. You need to all his work from a distance, slowly walk up to it and then look very close. Above, the portrait transforms into the cherries and DNA molecule.

Continue the tour outside. Walk around the Glass Enigma.

Morning dew on the Glass Enigma.

The Dali is on the segway tour.

Great views of the south marina.

Avant-garden is on the bay front and offers vista views.

Accessible from the quad area or the first floor's Gala Cafe.

Looking into the Glass Enigma. This is the only Novum glass structure in the Western hemisphere.

Gala and Dali

Left — Entrance to the maze. Right — The maze.

The Wishing Tree in the Avant-garden

The Dali Museum must be experienced at night. The architecture offers a different interpretation!

Main Entrance off One Dali Blvd.

Cousteau Divers Announcement

Surreal Leaning

We started a trend called "Surreal Leaning" where you lean on the inside of the glass enigma's metal frame — Not the glass!

Another trend is to take a "Reflection" selfie outside in the glass.

Continue your tour along One Dali Blvd.

Walk around the Dali Museum for vista views of the building and waterfront. The museum is in between the Mahaffey Theater, the quad, and the Albert Whitted Airport.

Remember to stop and look back!

Albert Whitted Park

Downtown cityscape from Albert Whitted Park

Outside the Dali Museum, this is your view!

From Demens Landing

From The Canopy Rooftop Lounge - The Birchwood on Beach Drive

Sunrise from Pelican Lot at the Pier

Sunset from Pelican Lot at the Pier

Try to get a view from a hi-rise building!

The Dali is written on the roof!

Dali Museum's first social media event was August 11, 2011.

Proud to say, I had great success in the city coordinating social media events. So I knocked on the Dali's door and asked if they would like to have a social? I was soon working with the Dali's staff to coordinate the event. This was a tremendous success that attracted social media enthusiasts from all over Florida.

For more of Robert Neff's Stories, Photography and Contemporary Art, visit Fifth World Art

Robert Neff is an award winning photographer.He specializes in weather, international events, sports (Rugby and Grand Prix), NASA, lifestyle, boats and sailing, nature, wildlife, and travel. Work has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines. He is also a writer with a published book and several articles in newspapers and journals.

ARTIST STATEMENT: Robert Neff’s contemporary art is dynamic and vibrant, and engages the senses. His photography and storytelling are the inspiration and basis for his fine art. Nature and life’s colors, tones, and shapes are transformed into mixed media art work. Design studies are used to explore geometrics, color, and patterns. As your perspective changes, so does the design. His approach changes how your vision interprets everyday experiences.

During his solo show at Art Miami’s Spectrum Miami, art lovers were drawn into his fine art work. His style drew comparisons to Vasarely and the Op Art movement. One collector from Uruguay compared his style to "Constructivism" and the great Uruguay artist, Garcia.

Created By

Robert Neff

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