2014 Pebble Beach: Petersen Museum remodel sends cars to Reagan Library
Representatives of the Petersen Automotive Museum took advantage of the annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance to announce they have collected more than half of the $125 million they will need for their massive planned remodel.
The museum has also made a deal with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library to display the jewels of their car collection during the one-year reconstruction period.
Making the announcement, Petersen chairman Peter Mullin said permits and approvals for the top-to-bottom remodel have been received. So have commitments for $72 million in funding.
“And if that sounds like a lot of money, that’s because it is,” Mullin said.
The funds will be used to create an entirely new museum experience, Mullin said, designed to make the Petersen, located on Museum Row at Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue, “one of the great museums of the world.”
The new facility will include interactive displays, a design studio space complete with clay model and CAD facilities, augmented reality stations and permanent exhibits highlighting “the history, industry and artistry” of the automobile.
The museum will close Oct. 19 and construction will begin Nov. 1. It is expected to last at least one year. But the museum’s underground “vault” will remain open for permitted visits.
Meanwhile, 30 to 40 of the museum’s crown jewels will be moved to the Reagan museum compound in Simi Valley.
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