The museum’s first major renovation in more than 80 years balanced long-needed building upgrades with preservation of its distinctive physical characteristics. Exterior work included cleaning the original sandstone facade and art deco metalwork and installing new glazing. Laser scanning, building information modeling and extensive photographic documentation proved essential to planning the integration of new mechanical and structural systems while protecting a variety of historic components, many of which remained in place during construction. In some cases, augmented reality was used to overlay the model onto the actual conditions in the field.

The project team weaved new mechanical and electrical networks into highly constrained spaces adjacent to historical elements, above ceilings and behind existing walls not originally designed to accommodate such systems. Damaged or deteriorated plaster cornices, theater seating, Masonite floors and scagliola wall panels were replicated to exacting standards. Structural seismic upgrades included adding steel elements to support the concrete structure and applying fiberglass-reinforced panels within the hollow clay tile.

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