In 1913 the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County opened the doors to its now-iconic Beaux Arts main building. One hundred years later, the museum is about to unveil the latest part of a seven-year, $173-million physical transformation—one that preserves the past, fortifies its existing structures and creates new spaces.
The museum's exhibits are dedicated to preserving the past, but the team that designed and constructed the museum's original 1913 facility didn't follow such exacting standards when it came to creating as-built drawings. During the planning phase of the recent seismic upgrade and renovation project, which broke ground in 2006, the team had a mere 24 pages of as-built drawings available for the 1913 structure, says Don Webb, president of Cordell Corp., the project's construction manager.