One of Los Angeles’ most familiar cultural landmarks is preparing for a long closure — but first, it is giving visitors a chance to say goodbye with a celebration.
The George C. Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits will host a 1970s-inspired farewell event, “Last Dance at La Brea Tar Pits,” on Saturday night. The party will include music, dancing, food, drinks and a costume contest as the museum gets ready to close to the public next month.
The museum is scheduled to shut its doors on July 7, clearing the way for what officials are calling the most extensive renovation in the institution’s nearly 50-year history.
The $240 million redesign is expected to reshape the museum experience with new exhibition galleries, visible research laboratories, expanded space for collections storage, a theater and a rooftop terrace with views of the famous tar pits and the surrounding park.
Plans for the renovation also call for preserving the museum’s historic atrium and distinctive exterior while making the building more accessible for visitors.
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Another major feature planned for the campus is the Samuel Oschin Global Center for Ice Age Research, where future guests will be able to observe fossil preparation and scientific work as it happens.
Although the museum building itself will be closed, the surrounding park — including the active excavation areas and lake pit — will remain open during the roughly two-year construction period.
Behind the scenes and on site, paleontologists and researchers will continue excavating fossils, caring for the museum’s collection of 3.5 million Ice Age specimens and carrying out scientific research throughout the renovation.
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Educational programming will also continue during the closure through behind-the-scenes tours, presentations and visits by the La Brea Tar Pits Mobile Museum to schools and community events across Los Angeles County.
The renovation is backed by public and private funding, including a $40 million gift from the Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Oschin Family Foundation, with Los Angeles County partnering to help finance improvements to the county-owned landmark.
Officials expect the reimagined campus, including the new Samuel Oschin Global Center for Ice Age Research, to reopen in 2028, ahead of the Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Games.
