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| NHM Commons, with Lucas Museum looming in the background |
The Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County will open the new NHM Commons wing on Sunday, Nov. 17, with a free block party. Here are some first reactions and photos from the media preview.
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| Night view of NHM Commons. NHMLA © Benny Chan |
Designed by Frederick Fisher and Partners, NHM Commons will be a glass-enclosed front porch to the museum, affording views onto Exposition Park. The ground level offers a coffee shop, a theater, and a gift shop. Visitors must take an escalator to see the two marquee attractions,
a greenish dinosaur nicknamed "Gnatalie" and a mural of L.A. history by Barbara Carrasco. In all NHM Commons offers 75,000 sf of upgraded space.
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Judith Perlstein Welcome Center, with Barbara Carrasco mural and Gnatalie. Photo courtesy of the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County © Benny Chan
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| NHM Commons Theater, with Gnatalie-green seats. In foreground are Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell and architect Frederick Fisher |
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| Alexander Vidal mural in NHM Commons' Wallis Annenberg Lobby |
Travertine details warm up the interior, as does a mural celebrating urban nature by Alexander Vidal.
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| This shows how close NHM Commons is to George Lucas's upcoming museum |
The elephant in the park is the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, expected to draw large crowds when it opens in 2026. The Commons project was surely motivated in part by a desire not to look dowdy in comparison. With its prominently signed coffee shop and free attractions, the Commons ought to make it easier for Lucas visitors to discover the NHMLA.
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Head of Gnatlie. Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County © Undine Pröhl.
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The marketing of Gnatalie (named for the relentless Utah gnats that afflicted its excavators) centers on the claim that it is the only green dinosaur skeleton on public display. The color is subtle and, as far as I can tell, of no particular scientific significance. If you're expecting a Kermit or Charli XCX green, prepare to be disappointed.
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| Gnatalie. NHMLA © Benny Chan |
Gnatalie
is a big deal, for other reasons. It's a new species of the family Diplodocidae, which includes the largest plant-eating dinosaurs. The species is still awaiting a name, pending its journal publication. At 75 ft. long, it's bigger than any of the skeletons in the museum's dinosaur hall.
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| Back vertebrae of Gnatalie with a legend identifying replica bones (white) in the skeleton |
Gnatalie is a composite of three individuals whose fossilized bones were found jumbled together. Nearly all the bones you see are authentic, save for the center back, which was found in a twisted state. 3D-printed replicas (digitally untwisted) take their place in the mounted skeleton. The original back vertebrae are shown in a display case. Notwithstanding what I've just said, Gnatalie is one of the best and most completely preserved dinosaur skeletons of its size in an American museum.
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| Gnatalie merch dominates the NHM Commons gift shop |
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| Barbara Carrasco and her mural |
The Welcome Center's other main attraction is even a few feet longer. Barbara Carrasco's 1981 mural,
L.A. History: A Mexican Perspective, measures 80 ft. across. Not unlike David Alfaro Siquerios'
América Tropical (Los Angeles, 1932) and Diego Rivera's
Man at the Crossroads (New York, 1933), Carrasco's mural was deemed too leftish by the Anglo establishment that commissioned it, in this case L.A.'s Community Redevelopment Agency. They asked the artist to remove 14 scenes of the grimmer parts of Los Angeles history (Chinese Massacre, Japanese incarceration, Zoot Suit Riots, etc.) Carrasco refused, leading to a legal battle over ownership that left the painting in storage. At the Commons it serves as a preamble to the museum's extensive holdings of Los Angeles history.
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| Full view of Barbara Carrasco's L.A. History: A Mexican Perspective, 1981. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County |
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| Circa 1981 celebrities including Fernando Valenzuela, Ricardo Montalban, and Rick James. Bonus points for spotting Harry Gamboa, Jr., and Carlos Almaraz. |
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| Landscaping with native grasses |
Studio-MLA has landscaped the vicinity of the Commons with native plants, in consultation with a panel of indigenous So. Cal. Americans. The concrete is studded with iridescent shell fragments, evoking ancient river paths. Tongva artist Lazaro Arvizu Jr. created a bedrock mortar, a stone with holes used for crushing edible acorns.
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| Ahmanson Foundation Promenade linking NHM Commons to the main south entrance of NHMLA |
Sunday's block party will have food trucks, performances, and hands-on family activities. It's free, but you'll need to pay the usual admission (or be a member) to access the main part of the museum.
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| NHM Commons seating |
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| Public programs will feature Lion King-style puppets of extinct species. NHMLA photo by Natalja Kent |
Comments
I'm old enough to recall when the museum to their east, long before the space shuttle was brought in, was the former Science and Industry Museum. It contained exhibits that would make a museum in Fresno blush. lol. In general, things are better now than before. Even more so if LACMA's blob somehow succeeds.
As for cities like Cairo, they've seen an evolution and improvement too. Such as the musty old Egyptian Museum now working in tandem with the sleek new Grand Egyptian Museum. Of course, the visual-arts institutions of Paris, some built just in the past 40 years, blast everyone else out of the water.