When it finally opens on Thursday, the new Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will do so in a similar vein to so many of this year’s star-studded fall releases. The $484 million museum’s first act will be as a barometer for an industry looking once again to pack theaters and captivate audiences as the tumult of the covid era gives way to Hollywood entrances and red carpet debuts.
No museum has been so anticipated in the recent history of the city. None in North America have ever been so dedicated to film culture and to moviemaking as this dazzling new magnum opus. It is precisely the vehicle the industry needs to promote itself as it emerges from a fraught decade and one that looks inevitably to the future using the past as prologue and film as a lens through which we experience ourselves and the world.
Renzo Piano’s blockbuster new cinematic arts shrine expands from an old Streamline Moderne department store at the corner of Wilshire and Fairfax to form a bookend with the adjacent LACMA campus and complete a trilogy alongside his Broad Contemporary Art Museum (2008) and Resnick Pavilion (2010) on the site of a former airstrip once operated by Cecile B DeMille.
Many delays and a myriad of production setbacks pushed the museum’s original 2017 opening until this week, ending nearly a decade-long process to create an institution dedicated to the cinematic arts that can trace its roots back to other Old Hollywood icons like Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks.
The potential of an institution with a 13-million-piece collection and seven stories of exhibition space was always apparent to its creators, who have arranged the museum’s curatorial program around immersive installations, inclusive educational series, and a slate of screenings that celebrate a diverse range of perspectives and narratives that have all contributed to the industry since its beginnings in the Silent Film era.
Innovation in different technical areas such as earthquakes science is at the core of the 1,000-seat David Geffen Theater, the museum’s 45,000-square-foot sphere centerpiece complete with a public atrium and every state-of-the-art advancement a moviegoer could ask for inside a Star Wars-inspired concrete and shingled-glass dome.
The theater connects to the renovated original May Co. building through two mezzanine-level walkways which provide visitors with access to the 250,000-square-foot facility that features double-height galleries designed by WHY, the 288-seat Ted Mann Theater, and renamed Sidney Portier Lobby. Exposed electrical systems and concrete repairs betray the architect’s penchant for “inside-out” museum design. A new glass curtain facade and restored cylindrical volume open up the museum to the surrounding landscaped plaza by the artist Robert Irwin.
“We are living in changing and ever-evolving times, and now more than ever, we need to come together to share our stories, learn from one another, and bond over being entertained and delighted,” Academy Museum president Bill Kramer said in a statement. “I am so deeply grateful to the entire Academy Museum team and all of our partners who have worked with such dedication and integrity in building this new institution—for Los Angeles and for the world.”
Opening festivities began last night with a celebrity gala and will conclude with a day-long free community celebration on October 17. General admissions tickets begin at $25 for adults and $15 for students. More information on museum admission can be found here.
4 Comments
A lot of people missed and underestimated the potential impact of this building on the park, Wilshire Blvd, neighborhood, and the city.
Hi Orhan, do you think the underestimated impact will actually be negative or positive in the end or to soon to tell ?
Hi Nam! I think the architectural community will always react so so. But the public which I am referring to will show a big positive impact. Zumthor's LACMA as well, if they can ever build it. The whole tar pits park including the Peterson auto Museum across the street will be a major culture factory with thousands of people visiting it every day. Like a theme park of sorts generating lots of income in membership fees and ticket prices and rents from the vendors. That's where all it's going.
I visited the museum yesterday and was disappointed to not be able to see the glass theater, etc, they were showing Wizard of Oz. The old May Co structure has been masterfully repurposed but it is obvious they are still working on the project, signage was lacking that directed you to anything. But, it is great start. Too much concrete though for my older legs.
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