California pours millions into mammoth makeover of LAs iconic tar pits
The La Brea Tar Pits are getting a $236 million cash infusion to help transform the iconic Los Angeles attraction in what officials are calling the biggest overhaul in its 50-year history.Gov.Gavin Newsom said Friday that the revenue bond will finance major improvements across the 13-acre museum complex in Hancock Park.The ambitious La Brea Tar Pits Reimagine Project will bring new exhibition galleries, visible research labs, expanded storage for its massive fossil collection, a theater and a rooftop terrace overlooking the famous tar pits and surrounding park.The makeover will revamp the George C.
Page Museum as officials look to give the prehistoric LA landmark a major 21st-century facelift.“We are embarking on a once-in-a-generation reimagining of the La Brea Tar Pits, transforming this critical resource into a global hub that is more visible, accessible and essential than ever before,” Natural History Museums of L.A.County CFO Leslie Negritto said in a statement.
“The new Samuel Oschin Global Center for Ice Age Research sits at the heart of this transformation, and our collaboration with IBank is vital to advancing this project and preserving and modernizing one of Los Angeles’ most iconic landmarks.”But not everything will change.The museum’s historic atrium and iconic exterior will be preserved, while improving accessibility to the building, according to officials.The renovation will also make space for the Samuel Oschin Global Center for Ice Age Research, which will showcase fossil preparation and scientific research to the public.
The museum officially closed for its two-year renovation in July, but the surrounding park area remains open to visitors.The museum is expected to reopen by 2028 just in time for the Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Games.A lot of the museum’s programming is expected to continue in when the museum reopens as well.
Paleontologists will continue excavating fossils, maintaining the collection and carrying out resea...