Contemporary Jewish Museum

Contemporary Jewish Museum Review

Daniel Liebeskind designed the postmodern CJM, whose impossible-to-ignore diagonal blue cube juts out of a painstakingly restored power substation. A physical manifestation of the Hebrew phrase l'chaim (to life), the cube may have obscure philosophical origins, but Liebeskind created a unique, light-filled space that merits a stroll through the lobby even if current exhibits don't entice you into the galleries. Be sure to check out the seam where old building meets new. At the museum's StoryCorps StoryBooth, a project of the NPR oral-history series, you can listen to past interviews—or slip into the recording studio and preserve a loved one's memories right on the spot.