Update on Exposition Park

Back in January, I mentioned plans for the new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art (LMNA) as an exciting addition to Los Angeles as a cultural destination. A gift to the city fully funded by George Lucas and his wife, Mellody Hobson, the space-ship-like structure will be part of the Exposition Park complex, which also includes the Banc of California Stadium (see below), the California African American Museum, the California Science Center, the EXPO Center, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

With construction expected to begin in 2018 and opening set tentatively for 2021, the project was approved by the Los Angeles City Council in June – “A slam dunk,” according to Mayor Eric Garcetti.

In addition to exhibitions, tours, and classes, LMNA will present film premieres, daily film screenings, lectures, and festivals. The 290,000-square-foot structure will include a variety of exhibition and lecture halls, state-of-the-art cinematic theaters, digital classrooms (including production-quality editing classrooms), a 4,200-square-foot drop-in library, and much more. Learn more on the LMNA website.

Meanwhile, construction is well under way for the 22,000-seat soccer-specific Bank of California Stadium. The open-air structure will replace the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, which opened in 1959, closed in March 2016, and was demolished in September 2016. The new stadium, funded by private investors, is expected to open in 2018. You can see renderings of the new stadium on the Los Angeles Football Club website and keep tabs on the daily progress thanks to a series of construction cams.