Dali Museum. The Salvador Dali Museum is an art museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States, dedicated to the works of Salvador Dali. Designed by Yann Weymouth, the museum is located on the downtown St. Petersburg waterfront by 5th Avenue Southeast, Bay Shore Drive, and Dan Wheldon Way. Reportedly costing over $30 million, the surrealism-inspired museum structure features a large glass entryway and skylight made of 1.5-inch thick glass. Referred to as the Enigma, the glass entryway is 75 feet tall and encompasses a spiral staircase. The remaining walls are composed of 18-inch thick concrete, designed to protect the collection from hurricanes which hit the region from time to time. The museum is a member of the American Alliance of Museums and of the North American Reciprocal Museums program. The museum features a variety of different events for families to attend. Some events include performances, workshops, films, lectures, different types of fundraising, and food and drink events. Many previous events have allowed members to participate in handmade holiday card workshops where participants created their very own holiday card including a Dali theme. In addition, there has been weekly poetry performances and lectures such as coffee with a curator, a presentation on a theme-oriented topic that discusses a variety of topics in relation to Dali. Shortly before marrying in 1942, Reynolds and Eleanor Morse attended a Dali retrospective at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Intrigued by the artist's subject matter, and impressed by his draftsmanship, they bought their first painting a year later. This purchase began a 40-year relationship as patrons and friends of Dali that resulted in a comprehensive collection of original Dali work. ntil 1971, the Morses displayed their collection in their Cleveland, Ohio, home. In March 1971, with Salvador Dali presiding over the opening, the Morses opened a museum adjacent to their office building in Beachwood, Ohio. By the end of the decade, with an overwhelming number of visitors, the Morses decided to again move their collection. A Wall Street Journal article titled U.S. Art World Dillydallies Over Dali caught the attention of the St. Petersburg, FL community, who rallied to bring the collection to the area. A marine warehouse in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida was rehabilitated and the museum opened on March 7, 1982, where it remained until 2010. In mid-2008, a new location for the Dali museum was announced. A new building was designed by Yann Weymouth of the architectural firm HOK and built by The Beck Group under the leadership of then-CEO Henry C. Beck III. Located on the downtown waterfront next to the Mahaffey Theater, on the former site of the Bayfront Center, the new, larger, and more storm-secure museum was opened on January 11, 2011. On April 18, 2012, the AIA's Florida Chapter placed the building on its list of Florida Architecture: 100 Years. 100 Places. The museum's collection includes 96 oil paintings, over 100 watercolors and drawings, 1,300 graphics, photographs, sculptures, and objets d'art, plus an extensive archival library.