{"nrhp_refnum":"75000434","name":"Natural History Museum","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"900 Exposition Blvd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Los Angeles","county":"Los Angeles County","state":"CA","lat":34.016886095000075,"lon":-118.28872453499997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1975-03-04","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"The original T-shaped brick building of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, at 900 Exposition Boulevard in Exposition Park, Los Angeles. It was completed and opened to the public in 1913 and designed by Hudson and Munsell (Mansell).","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is important as a cultural and educational center for Los Angeles County and as one of the few remaining links to the pre-World War I cultural and industrial boom. It also cites its eclectic architecture, combining Beaux Arts, Richardson Romanesque and Spanish plateresque influences, and its mosaic-covered rotunda dome, which became a prototype for other local buildings.","narrative":"Opened to the public on November 6, 1913, the original building of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County sits in Exposition Park, a thirty-acre site once called Agricultural Park. Architects Hudson and Munsell designed the T-shaped brick structure, which cost about $250,000 and held 30,000 square feet of floor space. Its style is eclectic, drawing on Beaux Arts, Richardson Romanesque and Spanish plateresque ideas. The centerpiece is an octagonal rotunda with sixteen scagliola columns, marble walls, a stained glass skylight and a mosaic-covered dome that became a model for other Los Angeles buildings. The museum grew from a civic effort led by William M. Bowen to turn the park into a cultural center. Additions came in 1925, 1930 and 1960, yet the original building has seen no major alterations. It also served as base for excavating the La Brea Pits and remains a link to the cultural boom before World War I.","period_of_significance":"20th Century (1910-1915 discussed in the text)","architect_builder":"Hudson and Mansell (also spelled Munsell)","architectural_style":"Eclectic, with Beaux Arts, Richardson Romanesque and Spanish plateresque influences","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as occupied, in good condition, and in use as a museum; the original building has had no major alterations, though additions were made in 1925, 1930 and 1960.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.19778-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/75000434.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75000434/ef861721df-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75000434/ef861721df-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"David Leigh Ellis","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NaturalHistoryMuseumOfLosAngelesCounty.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">David Leigh Ellis</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NaturalHistoryMuseumOfLosAngelesCounty.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859343","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_History_Museum_of_Los_Angeles_County","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2502709"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/los-angeles-county/natural-history-museum-75000434/"}