County to See Proposal Today to End Control of Petersen Museum

A proposal to end county control of Los Angeles’ nationally respected Petersen Automotive Museum by granting or selling it to one of several outside entities is expected to be made this afternoon at the quarterly meeting of the trustees of the parent Natural History Museum, The Times has learned.

The county museum board wants to rid itself of the obligation to pay about $2.5 million a year in debt service on bonds sold to finance the acquisition and refurbishing of the Petersen’s Wilshire Boulevard facility five years ago.

Petersen insiders believe the auto museum remains the strongest contender for future use of the site, despite competing proposals.

Negotiations between the board and the auto museum’s chief private benefactor, publishing magnate Robert Petersen, had broken down earlier this year but started up again this month after a Times article disclosed the situation. Petersen had offered to form a private nonprofit foundation to assume operation of the auto museum.

Richard S. Volpert, president of the Natural History Museum’s board of governors, confirmed Tuesday that talks with Robert Petersen’s attorneys have resumed but said the committee he heads has been talking to several potential users of the museum site.

“We want to preserve it, at least for use as some other type of museum,” if an agreement with auto museum supporters cannot be reached, he said.

The final diposition would depend on the outcome of continuing negotiations, Volpert said.