ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Dali Museum celebrated its 10-year anniversary on Monday at its iconic waterfront building in downtown St. Petersburg, which features a wave of glass paneling that wraps around the structure.

The Dali first opened its doors in a much smaller building back in 1982. The museum moved its priceless collection of Dali’s works to the new $40 million waterfront building on January 11, 2011.

Hank Hine the Dali Museum Director calls the building the "crown jewel" of the Bay Area and said it has attracted millions of visitors over the past decade.

"It's called one of the ten buildings you must see in your lifetime," said Hine. "It's a pretty rare kind of structure."

"This building has welcomed three million visitors and driven something like $1.5 billion worth of business to our community since its opening," he added. "It was very much worth the investment of the community, the donors and governmental bodies that helped build this."​​

For the anniversary, the museum received a 40-foot long loaf of bread to honor Dali. Hine said bread played a prominent role in Dali's works, and it changed meaning throughout his life.

"Pan, bread, it's the fundamental thing of life, but it's also a spiritual symbol," he said. "The embodiment of Christ in the iconography of painting through the years."

Hine said even the panels in the glass dome are symbolic and gives visitors a thousand different perspectives on the world.

"It's very much what Dali tells us about the world. That there are different perspectives, there are different ways of seeing things," he said. "Consequently, we as people have to take responsibility for how we see the world and to be tolerant that there are more views than our own."

Hine said they plan to expand the museum and add a much needed parking garage.