The southern entrance to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County in Exposition Park has long been a rather dour affair. Facing a grassy lawn and the L.A.
Memorial Coliseum, the entrance consisted of three muted doorways tucked into the center of a long, windowless building from the 1920s with a vibe that was more secretive vault than public museum. That will soon change. This month, the museum will complete principal construction on a 75,000-square-foot renovation and expansion that will bring some needed openness to the facade.
Designed by Frederick Fisher and Partners , with landscape by Mia Lehrer ’s Studio-MLA and installation design by Studio Joseph , the $75-million project will add a 400-seat theater, a cafe that can be accessed independently of the museum and a new welcome center that also functions as free gallery space. The latter will feature the skeleton of a rare long-necked dinosaur dubbed “Gnatalie,” as well as Barbara Carrasco ’s 1981 mural, “L.A.
History: A Mexican Perspective.” This is not the first time that the Natural History Museum has retooled an entrance. In 2013, CO Architects completed work on an illuminated glass pavilion on the northern side of the building that features the skeleton of a 63-foot-long fin whale — making the museum more visible from Exposition Boulevard.
The current revamp will give prominence to the museum’s western and southern flanks, which will ultimately face off with Ma Yansong’s rising Lucas Museum .