The futuristic Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is quickly changing the landscape of Exposition Park in Los Angeles.
Part spaceship, part education, dining and retail complex, the 11-acre campus is rising adjacent to L.A. landmarks including Memorial Coliseum and the space shuttle Endeavour exhibit.
The $1-billion museum, funded primarily by filmmaker George Lucas and wife Mellody Hobson, has pushed back its opening date from 2023 to 2025. The two-year delay, the museum says, is due to pandemic complications, specifically supply chain issues that have made the procuring of certain construction materials difficult.
The five-story, 300,000-square-foot, futuristic-looking museum was designed by MAD Architects founder Ma Yansong. It has an arched belly, creating a shaded, open-air plaza underneath that visitors can pass through into Exposition Park. The building is primarily composed of steel, glass and concrete along with wood, geofoam, fiberglass-reinforced polymer and plaster.
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The $1-billion Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is rising in Exposition Park.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art was designed by renowned architect Ma Yansong of MAD Architects.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
The museum’s 300,000 square foot building will feature 100,000 square feet of gallery space, two state-of-the-art theaters, and dedicated spaces for engagement and learning, retail, dining and events.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
The museum, funded primarily by filmmaker George Lucas and wife Mellody Hobson, is rising next door to the L.A. Memorial Coliseum.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
The museum features an 11-acre campus with green spaces for dining, retail and events.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
A view of solar panels on the roof of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art under construction in Exposition Park in Los Angeles.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
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The L.A. Coliseum stands behind the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art under construction in Exposition Park.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
Aerial view of the park area adjacent to the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art set to open in 2025.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
A framework of crisscrossed beams surrounds the museum.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
Museum director Sandra Jackson-Dumond says “progress in all areas of construction” is moving forward despite delays due to the pandemic and supply-chain issues.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
The building is primarily composed of steel, glass and concrete along with wood, geofoam, fiberglass-reinforced polymer and plaster.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
The outside of the museum is covered with more than 1,500 curved, fiberglass-reinforced polymer panels
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
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Mechanical, electrical, plumbing and life safety systems are being completed, along with the glass elevators and windows.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
A glowing sky at sunset silhouettes the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art under construction in Exposition Park.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
A skateboarder passes the $1-billion Lucas Museum in Exposition Park.
Los Angeles Times staff photographer Allen J. Schaben is an award-winning journalist capturing a wide range of images over the past 34 years. Before joining The Times, he honed his craft at the Detroit Free Press, Dallas Morning News, Wichita Eagle and Connecticut Post. Schaben earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1993.
