The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced this week that the Los Angeles City Council, in a unanimous vote, approved plans for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in the old May Co. building at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue.

Construction will begin this summer, and ceremonial groundbreaking festivities will occur this fall.

“I am thrilled that Los Angeles is gaining another architectural and cultural icon,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti. “My office of economic development has worked directly with the museum’s development team to ensure that the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will create jobs, support tourism, and pay homage to the industry that helped define our identity as the creative capital of the world.”

“We are grateful to our incredible community of supporters who have helped make this museum a reality,” said Dawn Hudson, the Academy’s CEO. “Building this museum has been an Academy goal for many years and we wouldn’t be here today without our neighbors on Museum Row, our Board of Governors, our current and past Academy Presidents, members, and of course, our generous donors.”

“I couldn’t think of a better home for the Academy Museum than Museum Row. The museum will be an iconic addition to our city and will inspire generations to come,” said Councilmember Tom LaBonge, during the final days of his 14 years representing Council District 4, which includes the Academy Museum site on the Miracle Mile.

Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano, the Academy Museum will restore and revitalize the historic Wilshire May Co. building. The Academy Museum will feature six floors of exhibition spaces, a movie theater, education studios, special event spaces, conservation areas, and a café and store. A new spherical addition will connect to the May Company building with glass bridges and will feature a state-of-the-art 1,000-seat theater and a rooftop terrace.

“Renzo’s design embodies the museum’s mission: Just as it links the past and present by connecting the May Company building with the new sphere, our exhibitions and programs will explore the history and future of cinema,” said Kerry Brougher, the Academy Museum’s director. “Our museum will, for the first time, open up the western edge of the campus to the surrounding community, inviting our neighbors onto an open public piazza. Renzo’s sensitivity to location and urbanism will transform this site and make it a gathering place in Los Angeles.”

The main lobby level of the museum will feature public areas including a free introductory gallery. The lobby will connect to the outdoor public piazza and a new pedestrian walkway. The museum also will have a main entrance on Wilshire Boulevard, facilitating easy access for pedestrians and mass transit riders.

“The museum will be the year-round public face of the Academy,” said Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs. “We will draw on the immense talents of our members to tell the story of motion pictures from a global perspective, for a global audience.”

The Academy Museum’s architectural team is composed of Renzo Piano Building Workshop, design architect, in collaboration with Gensler as executive architect. Morley Builders and Taslimi Construction Company are the general contractors, and the building developer is Paratus Group. The museum is scheduled to open in late 2017.

The Academy Museum will feature a core historical exhibition and rotating temporary exhibitions, complemented by special projects, publications, digital initiatives and a slate of public programs that will include screenings, premieres, panel discussions, gallery talks and K–12 education initiatives. The Museum’s exhibitions and programs will convey the magic of cinema and offer a glimpse behind the screen, illuminating the creative, collaborative process of filmmaking.

The Academy launched the Museum’s $300 million capital campaign in 2012, chaired by Bob Iger and co-chaired by Annette Bening and Tom Hanks. The Academy has already secured more than $250 million in pledges from more than 1,300 individual donors globally.

ABOUT THE ACADEMY
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the world’s preeminent movie-related organization, with a membership of more than 6,000 of the most accomplished men and women working in cinema. In addition to the annual Academy Awards—in which the members vote to select the nominees and winners — the Academy presents a diverse year-round slate of public programs, exhibitions and events; acts as a neutral advocate in the advancement of motion picture technology; and, through its Margaret Herrick Library and Academy Film Archive, collects, preserves, restores and provides access to movies and items related to their history. Through these and other activities the Academy serves students, historians, the entertainment industry and people everywhere who love movies.