The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has approved an updated approach for the revamp of the La Brea Tar Pits and Page Museum in Mid-Wilshire.

A Weiss/Manfredi-designed master plan for the complex, initially approved in February 2025, calls for a renovation and expansion of the existing Page Museum, as well as reconfiguration of the 13-acre surroundings with new entrances from surrounding corridors such as Wilshire and 6th Street, as well as improved landscaping and vegetation.

Exterior of Page Museum with new berm and walkwayWeiss/Manfredi

Save for minor changes to accommodate mechanical spaces and seating within the Page Museum, the physical changes proposed by the updated plan are largely the same. The most significant change by the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County, which operates the facility, is a new phased implementation for the master plan for the tar pits. The first elements proposed are renovation of the 69,000-square-foot Page Museum, as well as the removal and expansion of berms within the campus to accommodate outdoor learning spaces and access points to the museum. Plan also called for adding or replacing signage, lighting, landscaping, and furniture across the 13-acre site.

This would mean that improvements including new entrance pavilions, other walkways, and a new research building will be delayed to a later phase. Likewise, a relocation of the museum parking lot will not occur in the first phase.

Existing atriumWeiss/Manfredi

The initial phase of the master plan is expected to cost $234 million, including $22 million provided by Los Angeles County. The Los Angeles County Museum and Natural History Foundation has either raised or received pledges for more than $105 million of the remaining $212 million required to build the project, according to a staff report.

Phase one construction is expected to commence in September 2026 and be completed by June 2028.

Campus mapWeiss/Manfredi

The full master plan is expected to be built over a roughly seven-year period, ensuring that construction continues for years to come along Museum Row. Next door, work is currently underway for LACMA's David Geffen Galleries, a Peter Zumthor-designed structure which spans across Wilshire Boulevard, and completion is nearing for a stop on Metro's D Line subway extension.

Follow us on social media: 

Twitter / Facebook / LinkedIn / Threads / Instagram / Bluesky