March 28, 2020:
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is moving ahead with plans to demolish 4 structures and move forward on its $750-million building project.
But the call for coronavirus quarantine has prompted the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures and the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art to pause construction.
The demolition of the buildings at the heart of LACMA’s campus is set to begin in April, with completion targeted for late summer.
Before the pandemic, LACMA had entered what it called the preconstruction phase of its new, Peter Zumthor-designed main building. All that work — including asbestos removal, demolition of internal walls and the erecting of construction barriers around parts of the campus — is still on track, the museum said, adding that it’s working with L.A. County officials and following state and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention health guidelines.