Oscars receives final approval to go ahead with construction of new museum
In a press release issued today by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Los Angeles City Council has given the Academy the final approvals to go ahead with the construction of the much touted movie museum on Wednesday, June 24, 2015, in Los Angeles, California. Construction of the state-of-the-art museum will begin this summer, with a ceremonial groundbreaking ceremony to be held sometime this fall.
“I am thrilled that Los Angeles is gaining another architectural and cultural icon," said Mayor Eric Garcetti. "My office of economic development has worked directly with the museum's development team to ensure that the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will create jobs, support tourism, and pay homage to the industry that helped define our identity as the creative capital of the world.”
“We are grateful to our incredible community of supporters who have helped make this museum a reality,” said Dawn Hudson, the Academy’s CEO. “Building this museum has been an Academy goal for many years and we wouldn’t be here today without our neighbors on Museum Row, our Board of Governors, our current and past Academy Presidents, members, and of course, our generous donors.”
“I couldn’t think of a better home for the Academy Museum than Museum Row. The museum will be an iconic addition to our city and will inspire generations to come,” said Council member Tom LaBonge, representing Council District 4, which includes the Academy Museum site on the Miracle Mile.
The new museum that will stand at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue, where the current Wilshire May Company building is and right next to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art was designed by prize-winning architect Reno Piano. The museum will include a movie theater, six floors of exhibition spaces, special event spaces an Academy store and café in the restored May Company building. In addition to the original building, a new sphere-shaped addition connected the building via glass bridges will feature another theater that includes a rooftop terrace.
“Renzo’s design embodies the museum’s mission: Just as it links the past and present by connecting the May Company building with the new sphere, our exhibitions and programs will explore the history and future of cinema,” said Kerry Brougher, the Academy Museum’s director. “Our museum will, for the first time, open up the western edge of the campus to the surrounding community, inviting our neighbors onto an open public piazza. Renzo’s sensitivity to location and urbanism will transform this site and make it a gathering place in Los Angeles.”
“The museum will be the year-round public face of the Academy,” said Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs. “We will draw on the immense talents of our members to tell the story of motion pictures from a global perspective, for a global audience."
In 2012, AMPAS new museum starting accepting donations to reach the museum's $300 million capital campaign. The Academy project is chaired by Bob Iger and co-chaired by Tom Hanks and Annette Bening. So far, the Academy has already secured pledges worth more than $250 from more than 1,300 individual donors across the globe.