Birth of a Museum : Steel Rises in Burbank for Satellite Branch of County System

Beaming at the sight of his newest creation Thursday, developer Alexander Haagen told a crowd of civic and political leaders that he felt as if he had just given birth to a troublesome, but very special baby.

Haagen and officials from Burbank and Los Angeles County couldn’t help but gaze lovingly, even though the object of their affection was nothing more than a collection of girders.

No matter. By March, Haagen and others hope, the steel shell will have blossomed into a satellite branch of the county’s Natural History Museum. For the past few years, many naysayers openly doubted it would ever be built.

“I think this is a real coup for the city of Burbank, a tremendous cultural asset,” Mayor Robert R. Bowne said during a steel-raising ceremony at the site. “I’m confident the museum will be a tremendous success, enjoyed by Burbankers and residents of the San Fernando Valley for generations to come.”

It will be, supporters said, one of the only places in the nation where a major museum will bring permanent exhibits to people in outlying areas, instead of expecting them to travel to the exhibitions.

“It’s kind of like giving birth to a child when we see what’s happening here,” Haagen said. “We should all be proud of it.”

But amid the optimism and general back-patting, some Burbank officials privately expressed concerns about the general prognosis of the $1.2-million project. Even now, with construction under way, a private-sector fund-raising coalition is still far short of the $300,000 it needs to furnish the interior of the 12,500-square-foot museum.

It will be a daunting task in such a prolonged economic downturn, said salesman Grandin G. Hammell, chairman of the fund-raising committee. He said he has raised only $2,700 this year, in part because the project lacked final approvals and because of delays and “stops and starts.”

“My official line is we’re going to do this,” Hammell said. “It’s gonna be harder than nails to pull it off. But it’s gonna get done.”

It won’t be the first hurdle that museum proponents have faced.

Since discussions began three years ago, the viability of the satellite museum project has been continually questioned by people described Thursday by County Supervisor Mike Antonovich as “doubting Thomases”--pessimists who never thought it would work.

Representatives of the Alexander Haagen Co., Burbank, Los Angeles County and the museum board spent years in tough negotiations over how to divide project costs and responsibilities.

Then the project needed approvals by the various city and county governmental agencies. “A lot of people never thought we’d get this far,” Antonovich told the crowd. “But with hard work, we were able to put it together.”

Burbank officials in turn praised Haagen for his role. The developer was initially required to build a community center as part of his $300-million Media City Center mall project at 3rd Street and Cypress Avenue. Haagen decided instead to help build the museum, kicking in $600,000 for the cost of the museum structure, situated next to the mall.

Burbank officials agreed to put up another $300,000 in redevelopment money--in addition to the $300,000 to be collected by fund-raisers. The museum will staff and operate the satellite branch seven days a week.

When the museum is finished, visitors--including those to the mall, museum officials hope--will be able to gaze upon huge electronic replicas of dinosaurs, artifacts from the county’s gem and textile collections, and traveling exhibitions.

Mark A. Rodriguez, an assistant museum director, said no other museum in the nation has a satellite branch providing cultural and historical exhibitions similar to those found in the main attraction. The county museum already has two other satellite museums--at the La Brea Tar Pits and William S. Hart Park in Santa Clarita--and is planning to build an automotive history museum in the Wilshire area.

The Burbank branch of the museum is expected to open next spring, with an exhibit of large, animated insects, Rodriguez said.