The Guardian profiles the upcoming $240 million renovation of La Brea Tar Pits and Museum, the only urban, active Ice Age excavation site in the world. The article traces the site's history — from its origins as a tar-rich geological feature used by the Chumash people, to an oil-boom-era discovery of millions of remarkably preserved fossils, to its current status as a globally significant research institution. The museum, which first opened in 1977, will close to the public in July for approximately two years of comprehensive redesign led by New York firm WEISS/MANFREDI.
The renovation will modernize the interior exhibition, research, and learning spaces while adding new walkways, bridges, a pedestrian loop through the park, and native, Pleistocene-era plantings. Beloved features such as the Lake Pit and its iconic mammoth sculpture will be retained, while new dynamic dioramas and expanded gallery space will broaden the visitor experience beyond the museum's reputation as primarily a children's destination.
The new exhibits will also address climate change and species extinction, connecting Los Angeles's Ice Age past to present-day ecological challenges. NHMLAC director Lori Bettison-Varga and associate curator Emily Lindsey are quoted throughout on the project's goals around scientific literacy, public access, and what they describe as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for transformation.
WEISS/MANFREDI Architecture/Landscape/Urbanism is the Design Lead, Museum and Park, for the La Brea Tar Pits project. GRUEN ASSOCIATES is the Executive Architect and Landscape Architect. Exhibition Design is being created by Kossmanndejong (KDJ). Landmark PM is the Owner's Representative and Project Manager. The General Contractor is Clark Construction Group – California, LP.