Southwest Museum Owner Autry Gets Permission to Renovate Griffith Park Location

The Los Angeles Parks and Recreation Commission last week approved a proposal by the Autry National Center to expand its Griffith Park museum space, a ruling  some Mount Washington residents fear imperils the future of.

According to the proposal submitted to the commission, the Autry’s plan calls for “the renovation and reconstruction of two exhibit galleries, the installation of long-term exhibits, the conversion of an existing outdoor area into an outdoor teaching garden, and associated improvements including the renovation of existing restrooms.”

The project will be paid for through $6.9 million that the Autry received from California’s Prop. 84 Nature Education Facilities (NEF) Program, which was established to support projects geared toward providing environmental and natural history education.

The Friends of the Southwest Museum -- which has long opposed the expansion of the Autry due to concerns it would further marginalize the Southwest Museum -- is now hoping the Los Angeles City Council can step in at the last minute and claim jurisdiction of the issue.

Section 245 of the Los Angeles City Charter grants the city council permission to claim jurisdiction over any city board decision within five regular council meetings. As of Wednesday evening, the council had three more meetings left before it could no longer claim the issue.

On Wednesday evening, Charles Miller of the Friends of the Southwest Museum Coalition circulated an e-mail in which he asked residents to call their council members and urge them to claim jurisdiction of the issue.

The Autry merged with the struggling Southwest Museum in 2003, in what the community saw as a mutually beneficial partnership, considering the Autry's strong financial standing and the Southwest Museum's billion-dollar collection.

However, instead of leading to a rebirth, the Southwest Museum's merger with the Autry has resulted in the closure of the museum to the public. 

In 2005, the Autry shut down public exhibitions at the Southwest Museum and then completely closed its doors to the public in 2009.

Yadhira De Leon, a spokesperson for the Autry National Center, said despite rumors to the contrary, reopening the Southwest Museum has remained a priority for the Autry.

However, she said given the collection's massive size, as well as  the condition of the Southwest Museum itself, which was damaged during the Northridge Earthquake of 1994, there is a massive restoration effort that first needs to be completed before the museum can be reopened.

According to Mount Washington Attorney Daniel Wright, the coalition believes that the parks and recreation commission’s ruling should be invalidated, as the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) exemption the project received during the summer of 2010 is, in the coalition’s opinion, invalid.

Wright said elements of the project have impacts that should have triggered an environmental review, including its potential to increase traffic around Griffith Park.

Further, Wright said that the long-term exhibit proposed in the project, “First Californians,” is an exact replica of the one shown at the Southwest Museum for years.

“That ‘First Californians’ exhibit is the Southwest Museum’s principal exhibit, which brings thousands of third grade students to Mount Washington every year,” he said.

Wright added that, according to the Northeast Community Plan, the city requires that any project that could negatively impact the operation of the Southwest Museum must undergo an environmental review.

“This renovation would render the Southwest Museum’s exhibit redundant, and in approving it, the city is in violation of its own laws,” Wright said.

The Autry National Center could not be reached for comment after business hours on Tuesday evening. Continue to check Patch.com as we follow this developing story.