On January 22, 2018,  the Orlando City Council unanimously approved an agreement with the Holocaust Center to lease the former Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce building and the adjacent Senator Beth Johnson Park to create an iconic, architecturally significant, world-class museum and community gathering place in Downtown Orlando.

In his announcement, Mayor Dyer applauded the Holocaust Center for its accomplishments over the past three decades of “using the lessons of the Holocaust to create a more just society free not only of antisemitism, but of hate, prejudice and bigotry of all forms… the new center will help strengthen the cultural fabric of Orlando, creating greater synergies and partnerships with the academic, business, faith and nonprofit sectors of our community.” He concluded his statement by declaring, “This will be much more than just a destination; it will be a perfect fit for our community.”

We are profoundly grateful to the City of Orlando for its generous support and making it possible for us to grow our physical space as well as our impact combating hate and preserving civil and human rights.This process will take several years, but we believe becoming part of the downtown community will increase public accessibility as well as visibility of our work.

The decision to expand is the result of many years of strategic planning and evaluation by the Holocaust Center’s board of directors and was made possible by strong and ongoing support from the City of Orlando.

More details about the expansion will be made public in the months ahead.

Pam Kancher

Executive Director