Still ambitious -- just on a tighter budget

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art announces a bold plan to demolish most of its buildings and then shelves the idea. The UCLA Hammer Museum unveils a major renovation scheme and then postpones it. The L.A. Children’s Museum closes its doors intending to build two new facilities, but puts the bigger one on hold and struggles to raise funds for the smaller one.

Not exactly a picture of a thriving museum scene. But gloom and doom isn’t the whole story. The California African American Museum and the Museum of Tolerance have just unveiled face-lifts.

And for every local building plan that has gone awry, several others are shaping up. If all the major projects that are in the works materialize, by 2005 the museum landscape here will look dramatically different.

The confluence of building plans reflects a new degree of maturation. As Southern California’s relatively young museums have built their collections and programs and updated their missions, they have run out of space to go to the next level. The urge to grow and change has inspired a remarkable variety of expanding facilities and ambitions.

Three of the most ambitious projects are already under construction: at the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades; the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino; and the Skirball Cultural Center in Sepulveda Pass.

In 1994, the Getty Trust announced plans to transform its Roman-style villa into a specialized museum and study center for antiquities, in preparation for moving its collections of European art and photography to the new museum at the Getty Center. Villa construction was to begin in 1997, but it was stalled by neighbors’ lawsuits charging that the planned changes would increase traffic and noise.

The project didn’t grind to a complete stop. Renovation of existing buildings was covered by old permits and a permit was issued last year to build a new central plant for heat, air-conditioning and other services. But the Getty didn’t get clearance for new construction until Feb. 18, after the last legal obstacle had been removed.

“We are digging now,” says Jill Murphy, the Getty’s chief of staff. And not a minute too soon, she adds. “If we hadn’t gotten a favorable ruling when we did, we would have had to make decisions about continuing the project.”

At the Huntington, four major projects are underway and a fifth is in the offing, says its president, Steven S. Koblik, to fulfill the Huntington’s mission “in a more contemporary and productive form.” The new Botanical Center -- part of which is already in use, with the rest to be finished in 2005 -- is an educational facility that complements the gardens and, Koblik says, “isn’t simply looking at plants, but engaging with plants and understanding their relationship to the broader physical world.”

The multifaceted center will have a conservatory with four “environments”; a children’s garden; and a teaching greenhouse. Yet another botanical project, a 12-acre Chinese garden, is also under construction.

At the library, the new Munger Research Center is currently a massive hole in the ground, but it’s expected to be open by early 2005 -- with 90,000 square feet for the collection and research facilities for visiting scholars.

The Virginia Steele Scott Gallery, which houses the Huntington’s American art collection, is also targeted for expansion. Los Angeles architect Frederick Fisher has designed a $6-million, 16,000-square-foot addition, with construction scheduled to begin this fall. The immediate push for its expansion has been propelled by the impending renovation of the Huntington Gallery, the historic home of Henry Edwards Huntington.

“The Huntington Gallery has deferred maintenance issues that need to be addressed, and that means closing the facility,” Koblik says. When inquiries about the cost of storing the fine and decorative arts displayed in the house produced seven-figure estimates, Huntington officials decided to fast-forward the Scott Gallery expansion, display British art there during the renovation and then turn it over to American art.

At the Skirball, where construction of donor-named Winnick Hall and Ziegler Amphitheater is underway, the focus is also on “mission and content, not buildings for their own sake,” says Uri D. Herscher, president and chief executive. Since the Skirball opened its first phase in 1996, followed by the second in 2001, it has become a community meeting place for an increasingly wide variety of people, and the buildings have been tailored to serve their needs, he says.

Phase three will expand general gallery space and “enhance our capacity to serve young audiences through performances in the amphitheater and through galleries reflecting on the themes in the biblical story of Noah’s Ark,” Herscher says. “With the recent gift of Lloyd Cotsen’s Noah’s Ark folk art collection, we have an extraordinary teaching resource.”

The majority of the region’s museum makeovers are still in the wish-list stage. Although some institutions secured expansion funds before the economic bubble burst, others have had to lower their expectations and lengthen their timelines.

“We are on schedule,” says Jane Paisano, president and director of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, which has selected New York architect Steven Holl to renovate and expand its Exposition Park facility, at a cost of $200 million to $300 million.

“We will have a design and an exhibit master plan in September,” Paisano says. “We will do our feasibility study right after that, and we’ll be entering the quiet phase of our capital campaign late in the fall. This a very complicated project, which is part retrofitting the existing building and part new. What we want to come out of that is something really transformative.”

At the same time, she says, “we do not want to get into a set of circumstances where the budget keeps escalating, so we have to maximize the square footage within the amount of money that we think is realistic for us.”

At LACMA, realism meant putting Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas’ tear-down plan into cold storage. Now the focus has shifted to LACMA West, the five-story former department store that the museum purchased in 1994 but only partially refurbished.

“It turned out that we could do a lot without adding space,” says Andrea L. Rich, the museum’s president and director. LACMA West needed to be renovated and put to better use no matter how the museum may expand in the future, “so that’s what we’re concentrating on right now,” she says.

“Once I get that program planned and funded and started, we can begin moving things around in LACMA East and make a much more coherent campus,” she says. “And the nice thing about it is, you can do it as you go -- raise dollars for specific parts. It’s doable.”

The UCLA Hammer Museum is quite a different story.

“We have not shelved our project or revamped it or minimized it,” director Ann Philbin says of L.A. architect Michael Maltzan’s $25-million renovation and redesign plan. As for the delay, “we are moving forward very deliberately,” she says.

The university prohibits the museum from beginning construction until all the money is in hand. With $9 million to go, including $5 million for the theater -- a potentially attractive “naming opportunity” -- Philbin is optimistic. “We are actively pursuing funding possibilities in several directions,” she says.

It all takes time, and nobody said that raising money for museums is easy in Southern California.

“It’s very clear that there’s an extraordinary ambition here in terms of our cultural institutions,” Koblik says. “ “It’s also clear that the community is trying to live up to its potential. Southern California should have this array of institutions and it should be able to sustain them.

“But that demands a mixture of both private philanthropy and public funding,” he says. “Obviously state and local entities are extraordinarily hard-pressed, so their ability to provide support and leadership is really limited. And private philanthropy in Southern California has not focused as strongly on cultural institutions as it has in some other communities, particularly on the East Coast.”

Still, the lineup of projects suggests that Southern California museum leaders are looking beyond the current fiscal year, says Richard Koshalek, who directed L.A.’s Museum of Contemporary Art during its building phase and now heads Pasadena’s expanding Art Center College of Design. As museums gain acceptance as an essential part of the urban environment, their leaders take more responsibility “to provide viable institutions for the future,” he says.

“Can the resources be found for all these projects?” Koshalek asks. “I think so. You have to be realistic, but you also have to think about the future. It may be unknowable, but it’s not unthinkable.”

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Museum makeovers: Under construction

Chinese American Museum

423-425 N. Los Angeles St., Los Angeles

Basics: A museum-in-the-making since 1987, it’s meant to explore L.A.’s Chinese American history, culture and art in the city’s oldest surviving Chinese buildings -- Garnier Hall, once regarded as the Chinese community’s “city hall,” and an adjacent structure.

What’s new: An $800,000 renovation of the 7,200-square-foot museum is nearly complete, a $1.5-million capital campaign is underway and exhibits will be installed soon. The museum is expected to open at the end of the year.

Why: “Chinese people have been in Southern California for 150 years. It’s a history and a journey that needs to shared,” executive director Suellen Cheng says.

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Getty Villa

17985 Pacific Coast Highway, Los Angeles

Basics: Once the only Getty Museum, this Roman-style complex on its 63-acre seaside site opened in 1974 and closed in 1997, when the Brentwood Getty Center opened. Its long-planned renovation was mired in neighbors’ lawsuits until February.

What’s new: Construction is underway on a $275-million renovation, adding 76,000 square feet to the original 134,000-square-foot complex. Due to open in fall 2005, the remade villa will focus on Greek and Roman antiquities, complete with an amphitheater entrance.

Why: “The Getty Center was never seen as a substitute for the villa,” Getty Museum director Deborah Gribbon says. “We want the villa to reach its full potential, not simply as a museum of antiquities, but also as a teaching facility and a center for conservation, scholarship and public programs.”

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Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens

1151 Oxford Road, San Marino

Basics: Founded in 1919, the Huntington specializes in English and American history, literature, art and culture, and occupies the 207-acre estate of railroad magnate Henry Edwards Huntington.

What’s new: The first components of a $25-million botanical center are already in use; it will be finished in 2005. A $21-million addition to the library is due for completion at the end of 2004. A $10-million Chinese garden is also under construction, completion date unknown. A $6-million, 16,000-square-foot addition to the American art gallery, to be designed by L.A. architect Frederick Fisher, is slated for completion in summer 2005.

Why: “These new facilities,” Huntington President Steven S. Koblik says, “give us the capacity to fulfill the mission that Mr. Huntington set out as creatively and forcefully as we can.”

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Skirball Cultural Center

2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles

Basics: Conceived in 1983, the center opened its Sepulveda Pass complex in 1996. It explores connections between Jewish heritage and American democratic ideals.

What’s new: A $35-million project is under construction. It will add a 16,000-square-foot exhibition space, children’s facilities and a 350-seat amphitheater to the 350,000-square-foot institution, and is set to open in 2004 and 2005.

Why: “As we came to understand the dramatic impact we were having through our school outreach programs, we decided that we not only could be a venue for major exhibitions with more gallery space, but could also serve more children, of even younger ages, were we to expand,” Skirball President Uri D. Herscher says.

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Kidspace Museum

Brookside Park, Pasadena

Basics: Closed since January in preparation for a move, Kidspace was launched in 1979 as a community project, and incorporated in 1981 as a nonprofit, interactive learning environment that promotes imagination, exploration and discovery.

What’s new: A $13.5-million complex designed by L.A. architect Michael Maltzan and slated to open in spring 2004, it encompasses three 1930s-era barns and a new 18,000-square-foot building, complete with galleries and a theater, on the site of the former Fannie Morrison Horticultural Center.

Why: Kidspace outgrew its longtime home in the 1990s, leading to plans for a new state-of-the-art museum that would serve 30,000 visitors annually

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On the waiting list

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Autry National Center of the American West

4700 Western Heritage Way, Los Angeles

Basics: Founded in 1907, the collection-rich, cash-poor Southwest Museum, right, has agreed to merge its Native American art and artifacts with the collection-poor, cash-rich Autry Museum of Western Heritage, left, founded in 1988.

What’s new: The museums will maintain separate identities but operate as subsidiaries of the new center. Plans are under discussion to expand the Autry’s building in Griffith Park and to restore the Southwest’s historic home on Mt. Washington.

Why: “We have a world-class collection, but we do not have a world-class museum,” says Duane King, Southwest director. It should be easier to attract support and do justice to the collection under auspices of an organization that will be “greater than the sum of its parts.”

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Bowers Museum of Cultural Art

2002 N. Main St., Santa Ana

Basics: Founded in 1936, it displays a varied collection of art and artifacts, and presents international exhibitions that promote human understanding through art.

What’s new: A 40,000-square-foot wing containing an auditorium and gallery space designed by Corona del Mar architect Robert Coffee, to be funded by a $4-million grant from the state and an unspecified sum of private funds, yet to be raised. The time line hasn’t been set. The existing museum can accommodate loans under a new partnership with the British Museum but more space is needed for other international ventures.

Why: “There’s a lot of competition for the recreational dollar. If you are going to attract people, you have to change, freshen your exhibits and have the best museum you can,” says Donald P. Kennedy, chairman of the board of governors.

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California Science Center

700 State Drive, Los Angeles

Basics: Founded in 1880 as the California Museum of Science and Industry, the center presents interactive displays that explore scientific principles and phenomena.

What’s new: A $110-million World of Ecology wing designed by two architectural firms, Zimmer, Gunsul, Frasca and Esherick, Homsey, Dodge & Davis , is expected to break ground in the fall. The museum has $50 million in hand, including $29.7 million from the state, and plans to begin construction when $85 million has been secured.

Why: Part of a long-range plan to develop the museum as a state-of-the-art science education facility, the new wing will offer a unique mix of live habitat environments and interactive exhibits, and will allow visitors to explore different ecosystems, President Jeffrey N. Rudolph says.

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Children’s Museum of Los Angeles

Offices at 205 S. Broadway, Los Angeles

Basics: Founded in 1979, it operated in downtown L.A. for 20 years as a hands-on, participatory environment for kids from 2 to 12 years of age. The museum closed in 2000 to plan two new facilities, in Little Tokyo and at Hansen Dam Recreational Area in the northeast San Fernando Valley.

What’s new: The Little Tokyo project has been shelved while museum backers concentrate on building the Hansen Dam facility, a $22-million, 52,000-square-foot structure designed by Sarah Graham of the L.A. architectural firm Angelil/Graham/Pfenninger/Scholl. With a $16-million grant from the city in process, museum supporters still need to raise $6 million. They hope to break ground in mid-2004.

Why: When the museum closed, its supporters said the 17,000-square-foot facility was too small to accommodate the 250,000 children who visited each year.

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Los Angeles County Museum of Art

5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles

Basics: Founded in 1910, LACMA displays an encyclopedic art collection and presents a wide range of temporary exhibitions and related programs in a six-building complex.

What’s new: A plan to raze the museum and rebuild it according to plans by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas was shelved because its cost (at least $250 million) exceeded the museum’s money-raising reach. The plan now is to raise $25 million to $50 million to renovate LACMA West, a former department store purchased in 1994, above. No timetable has been set.

Why: “In order to make better use of LACMA East, we have to move a lot of things out of there, make LACMA West more efficient and bring it up to our standards,” says Andrea L. Rich, president and director. “It could be a doozy of a building to program,” she says.

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Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles

Basics: Founded with LACMA in 1910, it displays its vast collection and presents exhibitions and programs on natural and cultural history that explore relationships between humankind and the environment.

What’s new: A $200- to $300-million renovation and expansion will be designed by architect Steven Holl. The building design, fund-raising plan and timetable will be unveiled in September.

Why: “We are building capacity for the future and transforming ourselves from the inside out, led by our new mission to inspire wonder, discovery and responsibility for our natural and cultural world,” says Jane Paisano, president and director.

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Petersen Automotive Museum

6060 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles

Basics: Just 9 years old, it explores the history and influence of the automobile in special exhibitions and installations of cars from its collection.

What’s new: A planned $25- to $50-million expansion that will add 40,000 square feet of exhibition space, a restaurant and special-event facilities, designed by Keating/Khang Architecture of Los Angeles. The museum has hired a development director and is gearing up for a $100-million capital campaign.

Why: “We need to modernize our building to promote our educational mission and to expand our space for functions that aren’t necessarily related to the museum. We have become a popular venue for social events,” director Richard Messer says, adding that renting space provides significant revenue for the museum.

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UCLA Hammer Museum

10899 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles

Basics: Houses industrialist Armand Hammer’s collection of predominantly historic European art and the Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts’ 40,000-piece holding of works on paper. It also presents a wide range of temporary art exhibitions.

What’s new: A $25-million renovation and expansion of the museum space in Hammer’s Occidental Petroleum building has been designed by L.A. architect Michael Maltzan. The museum has $16 million in hand; construction will begin when the remaining $9 million has been raised.

Why: Work on the museum stopped at Hammer’s death in 1990, shortly after the unfinished space opened. UCLA took charge in 1994, but the auditorium and other spaces have never been completed, director Ann Philbin says.

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Ready to break ground

Japanese American National Museum

369 E. 1st St., Los Angeles

Basics: Since 1985, it has promoted multicultural understanding by preserving and telling the story of Japanese ancestry as an integral part of U.S. history.

What’s new: The National Center for the Preservation of Democracy, a recently founded institution funded by a $20-million federal grant, is expected to open under the museum’s sponsorship in fall 2004 in a former Buddhist temple next to the museum’s 4-year-old, 85,000-square-foot building in Little Tokyo. Construction on the project, designed by L.A. architect Brenda Levin, begins soon.

Why: “The new national center has different needs from the museum’s,” public information manager Chris Komai says. “We will create a 200-seat forum for free speech as the centerpiece of our commitment to discourse, dialogue and community engagement.”

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Museum of Latin American Art

628 Alamitos Ave., Long Beach

Basics: Opened in 1996 in a former silent film studio-turned-roller rink, it presents exhibitions and related programs that celebrate contemporary Latin American fine art and culture.

What’s new: A $4.5-million renovation and expansion designed by San Diego-based architect Manuel Rosen will reconfigure the facade of the current 35,000-square-foot building and add 11,000 square feet of space for offices, a research library and galleries, and a 12,000-square-foot sculpture garden. Construction begins in the fall.

Why: This is the third and final phase of the master plan, which began with exhibition space to establish the museum’s identity, then added a special events space and is finally providing administrative and research facilities, says Susan Golden, director of public relations and marketing.

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Already unveiled

California African American Museum

600 State Drive, Los Angeles

Basics: Founded in 1981, it presents exhibitions and other programs on the history, culture and art of African Americans.

What’s new: The museum reopened March 22 after a $3.8-million, 18-month renovation, including new air-conditioning and security systems, roof repairs and hardwood floors.

Why: “We needed to bring the building up to the standards of the 21st century,” interim executive director David Crippens says.

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Museum of Tolerance

9786 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles

Basics: Founded in 1993, it presents programs on racism and prejudice in the U.S. and on the history of the Holocaust.

What’s new: A 9,500-square-foot addition, including an exhibition space, theater and high-tech conference center, opened last November.

Why: “This museum must be a dynamic organization if it is to help us learn from the past and create better tomorrows,” director Liebe Geft says. The recent addition has provided space for new children’s programs, temporary exhibitions and outreach, she adds.