Crowds Bedazzled by Smithsonian Show but Bedeviled by Lines

The Smithsonian Institution did a good job inviting thousands to the first weekend of its 150th birthday bash.

Too good.

People were so enthralled Sunday by the traveling exhibit at the Los Angeles Convention Center that they lingered hours longer than they were supposed to, turning a planned clockwork schedule to accommodate thousands into a wait as long as three hours, even for those with reserved tickets, which were free with a $3.50 handling charge.

And even those who complained and wanted their money back had to “stand in line for that too,” said Kathi Glaser, who spent more than 90 minutes in three lines with four children before giving up.

Advance tickets gave visitors two hours to tour the more than 350 items, said exhibit design manager Nigel Briggs, but people took much longer, creating about a two-hour backlog by midafternoon.

As many as 3,500 people were snaked around outside the Convention Center early Sunday afternoon, police said.

“That’s good news, that people are staying longer than expected. That’s also the bad news,” Briggs said. The exhibit capacity is about 4,500 people an hour, he said.

Ann Brady of La Canada Flintridge was like others who did not reserve tickets by phone; they were waiting outside the Convention Center for as long as three hours. And how did they pass the time?

“Eating!” chimed her children, Ryan and Austin. Soft-drink and snack vendors along the lines were doing brisk business.

Those with reserved tickets waited in a much shorter will-call line outside the Convention Center--but they still waited.

Once inside the building, at least 1,000 people were queued up before the exhibit entrance. And inside the exhibit itself, people had to line up for each attraction; the wait to glimpse the stovepipe hat that Abraham Lincoln reputedly wore the night he was assassinated was about 90 minutes.

Called “America’s Smithsonian,” the two-year, 12-city traveling show kicked off Friday in Los Angeles. The tour features, besides Lincoln’s hat, the ruby slippers Judy Garland wore in “The Wizard of Oz” and a model of Washington’s famous Smithsonian castle.

Glaser complained that she had spent an hour on hold on the telephone to reserve tickets, and drove to the exhibit Sunday from Playa del Rey with four children for her 2 p.m. appointment. “We waited an hour and got nowhere.”

Others who complained left their names and phone numbers for a museum representative to contact them. Many said they wanted to be reimbursed for parking as well as the $3.50 handling fee for the otherwise free tickets.

Briggs said that a few displays might be moved to make more room, and hours would be extended until 10 p.m. Sunday to accommodate the crowds.

Conservation coordinator Tracey Shields said corridors would be widened and signs on the exhibits would be enlarged so more people could read them at one time.

Briggs suggested that people come on weekdays to avoid the long lines; most of the weekend time slots have been taken. The exhibit runs through March 7.

Those who arrived first thing Sunday morning were able to walk right in without waiting.

Larry Ashmore came from Anaheim for his reserved noon slot. He emerged four hours later, gushing. “It was well worth it,” he said.

* SMITHSONIAN ARTIFACTS

A guide to treasures in the Smithsonian exhibition. F1