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Costa Rica Tours & Attractions: Costa Rica's Jade Museum to Relocate
By Explore Costa Rica Staff
Feb 25, 2008, 06:05

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Costa Rica's Jade Museum to Relocate

Costa Rica Attractions

Costa Rica's Jade Museum in Central Valley's San Jose is in the process to finding a bigger building in which to relocate. The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports and the National Insurance Institute (INS) have announced its plans to relocate.

The museum, which claims to be home to the best collection of pre-Columbian jade in the world, is presently on the first floor of the INS building. The popular Costa Rica tourist attraction is on the north side of Parque Espana, in the historic Barrio Amon in northern San Jose. Due to lack of space, only one quarter of the collection can be displayed at any one time.

In order to resolve the problem, INS President Guillermo Constenla and Culture Minister María Elena Carballo plan to move the museum to Plaza de la Democracia, off Avenida 2 on the eastern edge of downtown San Jose. The building is correctly in the process of remodeling. Officials say the plan will create a “corridor of museums” between the National Museum on the east side of the plaza and the Central Bank Museums beneath Plaza de la Cultura, a few blocks west. Though the INS board has approved the plan, it is still expected to be at least two years before the move takes place.

At present, INS is looking to buy a suitable site of at least 2,500 square meters on either the south or west side of Plaza de la Democracia. The institute is also charged with overseeing construction of the new building, which is expected to cost $6 million to $7 million, according to a statement from the Culture Ministry. The institute is negotiating a price for the site with landowners in the hope of reaching a satisfactory deal for both sides; however, expropriation of the land remains an option.

Carballo expects the project to have a huge impact on culture in Costa Rica's capital. “At the moment, culture industries are showing the strongest growth in the world, and they clearly give significant support to the economy of a country,” she said.

Citing Madrid as an example, she added that a strong cultural scene is of key importance if a city hopes to achieve a sustainable tourism industry.

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