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From Boston to Los Angeles, from New York City to Chicago to Dallas,museums are either planning, building, or wrapping up wholesale expansionprograms. These programs already have radically altered facades and floor plansor are expected to do so in the not-too-distant future.In New York Cityalone, six major institutions have spread up and out into the air space andneighborhoods around them or are preparing to do so. The reasonsfor this confluence of activity are complex, but one factor is aconsideration everywhere -- space. With collections expanding, withthe needs and functions of museums changing, empty space has become avery precious commodity. Probably nowherein the country is this more true than at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, whichhas needed additional space for decades and which received its lastsignificant facelift ten years ago. Because of the space crunch, the ArtMuseum has become increasingly cautious in considering acquisitions and donations of art, in some cases passing up opportunities to strengthen its collections. Deaccessing-- or selling off -- works of art has taken on new importancebecause of the museums space problems. And increasingly, curatorshave been forced to juggle gallery space, rotating one masterpiece into publicview while another is sent to storage. Despite theclear need for additional gallery and storage space, however, the museumhas no plan, no plan to break out of its envelope in the next fifteenyears, according to Philadelphia Museum of Arts president. | 
