Earthquake Safety Affects Plans at Two Museums

Prompted by earthquake safety concerns, officials at the California Museum of Science and Industry have closed two of their major buildings, and directors at the Southwest Museum, facing $2 million in overdue repairs and seismic safety upgrades, are seeking a new home, perhaps abandoning the site that has housed their collection for more than 80 years.

At the Science and Industry Museum, across from USC, executive director Jeffrey Rudolph on Thursday ordered the immediate closure of both the 1912 Ahmanson Building and the Armory Building on the “very strong recommendation” of Paul Neel of the Office of the State Architect who on Thursday found them to be potentially unsafe.

The action shuts about 100,000 square feet of museum exhibition space that houses, among other things, an earthquake simulation exhibit.

James Dickason, chairman of the board of the Southwest Museum and a board member of the Science and Industry Museum, confirmed Friday night that prospects of having to spend $2 million in overdue repairs on a building that directors fear may have seismic safety problems contributed to the recent decision to seek a new home for the collection in the stately, Italianate building in the Mt. Washington area of Los Angeles.

Museum trustees have no location in mind, according to Dickason. He said they plan to announce their decision to relocate early next week, to gauge the interest of a number of Southern California cities in acquiring the collection.

The museum also must confront limitations of its picturesque but aging concrete main building. He said it suffers from seismic safety problems serious enough to prompt fears that its world-famous collection of Native American art and artifacts could suffer catastrophic losses in a major quake.

For the Museum of Science and Industry, the decision to close the Ahmanson Building, an unreinforced masonry structure, means having to dismantle most of the museum’s main exhibits, including one on earthquake safety, perhaps moving them to temporary buildings, Campbell said.

Thousands of schoolchildren have visited the exhibit, which simulates an earthquake with shaking floors and walls, and demonstrates how to prepare for a quake.

Deputy Museum Director Bob Campbell said the decision to close the buildings--two of the six owned by the state in Exposition Park--will have a “significant impact” on the ability of the museum to operate.

“We’re going to look at the possibility of temporary space to house our programs by bringing in temporary buildings,” Campbell said.

This week’s inspection stemmed from a master plan preparation ordered two years ago by the state Legislature, Campbell said.

Last April, a study determined that it would take about $54 million to bring the buildings up to code, Campbell said. Neel was invited to inspect the museum and offer planning advice.

“He did that on Wednesday. On Thursday, he returned with a staff of experts to take a closer look,” Campbell said. “They crawled into spaces and looked around. Then, Neel offered a strong recommendation to close the buildings to the public.”

A long-range planning study also led to the decision at Southwest Museum.

Within the last few days, museum trustees met with City Councilman Richard Alatorre, who reportedly raised strenuous objections to the proposed move. He was told that only a massive infusion of $5 million to $10 million in new endowment and capital improvement money could keep the Southwest at its current location.

A source familiar with the museum’s deliberations said the plans are largely undefined. “In a sense, it’s a fishing expedition,” said the source. “They don’t know where they want to go. They just want to see who might want them.”