Preview: The WWII Museum’s New Wing

In recognition of the anniversary of D-Day Amelia Mularz offers a glimpse of the new wing of the National World War II museum in New Orleans.

Tomorrow marks the 65th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, and while most thoughts will be directed towards the shores of Normandy, I can’t help but set my sights on a coastline a little closer to home, New Orleans.

As if you needed another reason to visit the Big Easy, the city’s National WWII Museum is in the midst of a $300 million renovation. The massive project, which will quadruple the size of the current museum, is set for completion in 2015. But overanxious museum-goers (myself included) can breathe easy–the first three attractions will open as early as November 6th of this year.

One such attraction is the Victory Theater, a 250-seat space with a 120-ft-wide and 30-ft-tall screen. So what film could possibly be worthy of such an incredible theater? Beyond All Boundaries, a WWII documentary produced by Tom Hanks and exclusive to the Victory Theater, fits the bill. Hollywood’s latest slew of 3D movies has nothing on Boundaries, which uses 4D technology. Beginning with the attack on Pearl Harbor, the movie screen literally grows as the US plunges into war. Later, seats rumble and in-theater weather effects transport audience members from the jungles of the Pacific, to the blistering cold of the Battle of the Bulge…much more intense than a pair of glasses.  

Afterwards, decompress at the Stage Door Canteen, another feature set to open in November. Rock out to Big Band tunes and catch a glimpse of swing dancers in the new museum cafe, modeled after the original morale-boosting canteens of the 1940s. While Lauren Bacall won’t be available for a jitterbug or Mickey Rooney for a joke, but there will be plenty of live performances, cocktails, and a bite to eat.

The American Sector, a Chef John Besh restaurant, is the third attraction set to open this fall. The name comes from the neighborhood’s historic moniker and much of the inspiration comes from Besh’s own life. The James Beard Award-winner served as a Marine during the Gulf War and his father and grandfather have also served in the US military.

The restaurant’s menu is sure to please the most sophisticated palates, but the experience will be fun for kids as well. They’ll get a real taste for the era when their meals arrive in a 1940s-style lunch box, complete with a tin can full of French fries.  

History buffs, vets, and tourists alike will be looking forward to the grand opening, but of course the museum’s staff won’t be twiddling their thumbs ’til then. Tomorrow they have plans to gather WWII vets in commemoration of D-Day and add their stories to the museum’s permanent collection. The oral histories they gather tomorrow may be there, waiting for you to explore, when you visit the new museum elements this November.

Photo: Associate photo editor Krista Rossow