Los Angeles positions itself for economic recovery with ambitious museum expansion set to transform Miracle Mile
Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s bold architectural experiment crossed a critical milestone in late June as the institution offered its first public glimpse inside the long-awaited David Geffen Galleries. The preview event marks a pivotal moment for what has become one of the most expensive and controversial cultural projects in Los Angeles history, with implications extending far beyond the art world.
The $715 million project, funded through LACMA’s Building LACMA campaign that has raised $793 million to date, represents a massive public-private partnership. With the County of Los Angeles contributing $125 million and more than 80 percent paid for by private donations, including David Geffen’s $150 million gift, the venture exemplifies how major cultural institutions are increasingly turning to philanthropic funding to finance ambitious expansion projects.
Thursday’s preview event, as reported by the Los Angeles Times, featured hundreds of VIPs and media members experiencing the raw concrete interior before the art installation begins. The evening showcased the building’s acoustics and spatial dynamics through Kamasi Washington’s multi-band performance, offering stakeholders their first tangible sense of the investment’s potential return.
The economic stakes are substantial. The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation estimated in 2021 that the David Geffen Galleries project would generate more than $1.2 billion in economic benefits for Los Angeles. This projection takes on added significance as the city works to rebuild its tourism sector, which generated more than $40 billion in local business sales in 2023 but continues to lag behind other major U.S. cities in post-pandemic recovery.
Swiss architect Peter Zumthor’s design represents a dramatic departure from conventional museum architecture. The 900-foot-long horizontal structure spans Wilshire Boulevard, creating 110,000 square feet of galleries on the exhibition level with floor-to-ceiling glass panels providing panoramic views out to the city.
LACMA’s expansion comes at a critical time for Los Angeles tourism. The tourism industry generated $34.5 billion in total business sales in 2022, supporting more than 528,200 tourism-related careers, but Los Angeles is at the bottom of the list of major cities recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching only 79 percent of 2019 levels.
Cultural attractions play a crucial role in this recovery equation. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art attracts about 1 million visitors annually, placing it among the city’s top cultural draws alongside the Getty Center and other major institutions. The new galleries are designed to expand this capacity, with LACMA’s total gallery space growing to 220,000 square feet from 130,000 square feet in 2007.
The timing of LACMA’s opening aligns with Los Angeles’ upcoming hosting duties for major international events. With the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Olympic Games on the horizon, the city is positioning its cultural infrastructure to capitalize on global attention and visitor influx.
The public will be able to begin exploring multiple features of the new David Geffen Galleries in summer 2025, with the full April 2026 opening timed to precede the World Cup by just months.
Despite the increased expenses, the project has maintained strong philanthropic support. The north wing is named the Elaine Wynn Wing in recognition of trustee and board co-chair Elaine Wynn’s leadership contribution of $50 million that launched the Building LACMA campaign.
As Los Angeles prepares for its moment on the global stage, the David Geffen Galleries preview suggests that cultural institutions are increasingly viewed as economic development tools rather than simply repositories of art. Whether this $715 million investment will generate the anticipated returns remains to be seen, but this month’s preview indicated that LACMA is prepared to make its case to the world.
