‘A new house in town’: The $1 billion Powerhouse receives a joyous reception

Detailed summary

The long-awaited and controversial attraction is finally open, and visitors are impressed.

After 11 years of planning, three years of construction, two parliamentary inquiries, four NSW premiers and a bill of $1 billion, Powerhouse Parramatta, the city’s newest cultural landmark, has opened to the public, with the NSW government declaring the museum Sydney’s answer to The Smithsonian and London’s British Museum.

Long-running controversies over the project’s location, costs, focus and collection were set aside as the vertiginous Moreau Kusonski and Genton-designed building with its striking exoskeleton drew a wave of excitement and wonderment from a crush of curious visitors, just some of the 20,000 people who were expected to cross the threshold over its opening weekend.

Without exception, visitors were taken aback by the ambition of the marquee opening exhibition: Task Eternal, exploring space and flight in four chapters.

Queues were longest in the museum’s only dedicated…

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