Ugly but beautiful:LACMA finally unveils controversial new Geffen Galleries was it worth the wait?

After nine months of judiciously installing 1,700 pieces of art in what was a barren new concrete and glass structure, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s new David Geffen Galleries are finally all dressed up and ready to rock.Opening to the public Apr.19, a slew of LACMA treasures are finally out of storage and back on display throughout the 110,000 square feet of new real estate — notably stretching across a single elevated floor spanning Wilshire Boulevard, nearly 30 feet above the busy roadway. The 900-foot-long, curvy construct was designed by Swiss minimalist, experiential architect Peter Zumthor, and is accessed by monumental steps on both sides of Wilshire.

Don’t worry, there’s an elevator or two, as well. Last June, the completed empty building was introduced to the public via a series of performances from LA jazz composer, bandleader, and saxophonist Kamasi Washington, who led more than 100 musicians, split into ensembles and dotted about in different galleries, performing Washington’s Harmony of Difference.Despite the building’s music and movie mogul namesake and benefactor’s deep roots helming the careers of giants from The Eagles to Nirvana, the evening was mostly notable for the way the acoustically harsh concrete chambers caused cacophonous sonic bleed. Sound? Not so great.Visually, a stunner.The architectural art-piece ties together — in a slinky, concrete bow — the Miracle Mile cultural collective known as Museum Row, where Wilshire Blvd.

and Fairfax Ave.meet.This includes the Peterson Automotive Museum’s covetable cars, the La Brea Tar Pits & Museum’s ice age fossils, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures’ film histories — and, in a matter of weeks, a new subway station on Metro’s growing D line, connecting the district to Downtown, Beverly Hills and eventually beyond. LACMA now has 220,000 square feet of galleries, a significant increase from its 130,000 square feet in 2007, when the two-decade campus ...