Museum opens for first time in 30 years

NEW YORK--In response to a positive public support of the "Holiday Mondays" program in 2003, The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced it will continue to offer these special viewing days--the Mondays of major holiday weekends. The museum had previously been closed on Mondays for the past 30 years.

"During the first year of Holiday Mondays' at the museum, nearly 80,000 visitors took advantage of this new opportunity to enjoy special exhibitions and explore our rich collections," says Philippe de Montebello, director. "We are gratified by this level of interest and will continue the program for a second year--and expand it."

The museum's main building will be open on the following Monday holidays: Oct. 11 (Columbus Day), Dec. 27 (Monday between Christmas and New Year's Day), Jan. 17 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day), Feb. 21 (President's Day), and May 30 (Memorial Day).

Special exhibitions will be on display during the "Holiday Mondays." In October, the shows include "China: Dawn of a Golden Age, 200-750 A.D.," "Gilbert Stuart" and "Princely Splendor: The Dresden Court."