In an email sent to news outlets across the country, the organization blamed the economy for quashing plans for the 575,000-sf Frank Gehry-designed building, stating that current fiscal conditions rendered the project "not realistic at this time."

The decision is a blow not only to the city's plans to revitalize and repurpose post-Sept. 11 Lower Manhattan, it Also marks the institution's second project to go belly up recently; a Las Vegas branch closed earlier this year. There also have been reports of staff and budget cuts throughout the organization.

While both the Empire State Development Corp. and the New York City Economic Development Corp. have been working with the institution and would have provided financial incentives for the project, museum officials say most of the 40-to-45 story building's cost would have been funded through the private sector.

Gehry's design, which is similar to his critically acclaimed Bilbao, Spain Guggenheim, is a futuristic titanium sculpture to have been built on massive stilts over the East River. A skating rink, two theaters and a public plaza are also part of the now-shelved plan. Foundation chairman Peter Lewis reportedly plans to continue working toward some type of Downtown presence for the museum, possibly at a different location and most likely on a smaller scale.

The original Guggenheim Museum, an Upper East Side landmark designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, is known worldwide for its white spiral façade. A loft-like SoHo branch opened in 1992. There are also Guggenheim Museum's in Venice and Berlin.

Instant Insights /

Guggenheim Scraps $950M Downtown Museum Project

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