Mayor Thomas Menino broke ground for the new Institute of Contemporary Art on Wednesday, which will soon be constructed on South Boston’s waterfront.

“This will be the first museum to be built in our city in almost 100 years,” Menino said. “The Boston waterfront and Seaport District will be the premier place to visit in our city.”

Private contributions and the sale of the museum’s current building on Boylston Street helped fund the new building with more than 55 percent of the needed $62 million already raised.

The Barbara Lee Family Foundation and Bank of America made multi-million dollar contributions to assist in the fundraising effort.

The museum will feature visual exhibits as well as various other programs, such as film screenings, readings, dance performances and educational programs. The visual exhibition Super Vision will feature imagery by artists such as Andreas Gursky, Thomas Ruff, Pipilotti Rist, Mona Hatoum, Andy Warhol, Vito Acconci and Anish Kapoor.

Speakers emphasized the educational value of the new facility, especially for children.

“It has been proven that children involved in the arts do better in school than those that are not involved in the arts,” Menino said. “It would be shortsighted to not provide the best for our children.”

Architects Elizabeth Diller, Ricardo Scorfidio and Charles Renfro designed the museum – the facade will be made up of planks of transparent glass, translucent glass and opaque metal with the top floor lit at night. The goal of the design was to create “both a dynamic space of public activity and a contemplative space for viewing art,” Diller said.

“This will soon be the most majestic spot in Boston,” said Museum Director Jill Medvedow. “It is an inspiration and a community.”

The museum is scheduled to be completed in 2006.