Last year we ran a story on how the Hermitage has been offered a large section of Somerset House to act as a satellite wing of the Russian museum. Now full scale plans to make the entire central London site a museum complex have been revealed. Already home since 1983 to the world famous Courtauld Institute of Art and the Courtauld Galleries, in addition the 18th century palace of 1,000 rooms will house :
 

• The Hermitage Rooms
• Courtauld Video and Digital Art Centre
• Royal Society of Literature Headquarters
• The Gilbert Collection of Decorative Arts

The building itself built on the site of a 16th century royal palace and redesigned by  Sir William Chambers (1724-1796) will be opened to the public as a museum, with such attractions as the restored King's Barge House, the Seamen's Waiting Hall, and Chambers' architectural masterpiece, the Nelson Stair. The date of 26th May 2000 has been designated as the first official opening to the public.
Somerset House will also provide London's innercity workers and tourists with a much needed open air venue in Summer to relax and enjoy respite from the hellish traffic of the Strand. 

However the people who will really benefit from the renovation and expansion project are the students and tutors of the Courtauld Institute of Art and the neighbouring affiliated King's College, two of the London University's most prestigious colleges. Whilst much is being said about how great the new restaurant, delicatessen and a summer cafe for the courtyard will be for tourists, it is also a wonderful gift to the hard working students who for years have had nowhere to congregate informally but a small dark dingy basement tuckshop.  Students will actually be able to go for a stroll and get some fresh air along the River Terrace, central London's most spectacular new river vantage point. Previously the courtyard was clogged with cars and access to all other parts of Somerset House including the riverfront block were banned to students. Cramped, unsociable conditions in both the Courtauld and King's College made stuyding there a bit depressing. It is an incredible bonus to both institutions that this renovation project will provide a meeting place for students and tutors. Oxford and Cambridge always had this advantage and exchanging views with your peers is an essential part of education. 
 

19th century view of the Strand entrance to Somerset House. (centre right) that now houses The Courtauld Institute of Art and the Courtauld Galleries. The Institute is considered to be the most important centre of learning for the specialized subject of the History of Art and the Galleries house some of the world's best loved French impressionist and post impressionist paintings.

Souvenir and book shops, public lecture theatres, a micro-gallery and a programme of open-air performances  will add to the entertainment value of the museum complex which is being hailed as "a people's palace" in Blair-speak. It falls into an overall museum project planned by the Ministry of Culture to expand and open 10 museums in the London area this year. Following Millennium Dome fever and the Blairite taste for spectacle events planned for this Summer include two concerts on Sunday 28 and Bank Holiday Monday 29 May as part of the largest ever live music event, BBC Millennium Music Live, and 'Free Time', a weekend in July to celebrate the inauguration of the new fountains, with free entrance to the museums and free special events for families.