NHM NEXT
One of L.A.'s Great Buildings
The 1913 Building is the Museum’s original structure, out of which today’s NHM grew through the decades. Restoration of this Beaux Arts structure, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was completed in 2009. It was retrofitted with 21st century infrastructure, and beautifully restored in all its architectural details.
The Haaga Family Rotunda is now a multi-use space and the site for a new series of rotating exhibitions on the ground and mezzanine levels. Underneath the brilliantly restored dome and Walter Horace Judson stained-glass skylight, two intriguing exhibits await: What on Earth? and Life Through the Ages: Revisiting the Paintings of Charles R. Knight.
Renovation completed: 2009
Year prominent L.A. firm Hudson & Munsell designed Museum: 1910
Height of stained glass skylight: 53 feet
“ Here, visitors will experience wonder at the beauty of the setting and the ingenuity of the displays. They will sense, perhaps as never before, our need to accept responsibility for the natural and cultural treasures we have inherited — including the Museum building itself. ”
– Dr. Margaret Hardin,
Division Chief, Anthropology and History
