Finland eyes site for Guggenheim museum

[January 19, 2011]  HELSINKI (AP) -- The mayor of Helsinki says the city has commissioned the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation to explore the possibility of building a museum in the Finnish capital.

Jussi Pajunen says the feasibility study will cost $2.5 million and take a year to complete.

Richard Armstrong, the director of the New York-based Guggenheim foundation and museum, said Tuesday it is "a very compelling opportunity to continue our investigations into the possibilities of global interchange."

The organization has museums in Germany, Italy and Spain.

If Helsinki's bid is successful, the earliest the museum could open in the city of some 600,000 people would be in 2017.

[Associated Press]

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