The lines that recently snaked around the Whitney Museum of American Art are gone. So is the hulking sculpture of Popeye that could be spied in the courtyard. Since the Jeff Koons retrospective closed there on Oct. 19, the only signs of life have been moving trucks and cranes as the Whitney prepares to exchange its Madison Avenue home, designed by Marcel Breuer, for its new place in the meatpacking district this spring. The Breuer won’t stay empty for long, however: In March 2016, the Metropolitan Museum of Art will take over, at least for eight years.

Although the arrangement was announced three years ago, the Met has been tight-lipped about what it will actually show in the Whitney’s old home. But loan requests went out in September to museums, collectors and dealers detailing the first show there.