The Huntington’s new education and visitor complex

The glass dome in front of Rothenberg Hall stands 36 feet high.   (Tom Politeo / For the Times)

Buildings house classrooms, an auditorium, meeting space and more at the Steven S. Koblik Education and Visitor Center. The new complex cost $68 million.  (Tom Politeo / For the Times)

Plantings in the Huntington’s Celebration Garden, which slopes downhhill and takes visitors along a path into the Desert Garden.  (Mary Forgione / For the Times)

The Celebration Garden at the Huntington includes a water feature running down the middle.   (Tom Politeo / For the Times)

The opening of the new complex creates a new entrance to the Huntington.  (Mary Forgione / For the Times)

The new indoor-outdoor restaurant at the Huntington seats 300 people.  (Tom Politeo / For the Times)

The restaurant’s terrace provides views of the gardens at the Huntington.  (Mary Forgione / For the Times)

The new visitor center has a map of the original property as well as a 2015 of how the Huntington has evolved.  (Tom Politeo / For the Times)

Photographs compare the Huntington as it looked in 1915 with how it looks now.  (Mary Forgione / For the Times)

A view of the Huntington’s Desert Garden.   (Tom Politeo / For the Times)

Cactus blooming in the Desert Garden, which has some of the oldest cactus and succulents at the Huntington.  (Tom Politeo / For the Times)

The Desert Garden has more than 5,000 species of succulents and desert plants, according to the Huntington’s website.  (Tom Politeo / For the Times)