Ever since Al Christie for David Horsley established Nestor Studios in 1911, the city of Los Angeles has been synonymous with the film industry. Despite the fact that most movies aren't even shot there, "Hollywood" has become a colloquialism referring to the art of making commercial films. The city features some of the biggest studios in the world and some of the most famous theaters ever built. Amazingly, what it doesn't have is a large-scale museum entirely dedicated to the cinematic arts. That may not be the case for much longer.
The Los Angeles Times is reporting that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is teaming with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) to build a museum for the city's biggest industry. Rumored for some time (they've been trying to get it done since the 1960s), the Academy plans to open the new establishment's doors within the next three years and will be built where the abandoned Miracle Mile department store near LACMA, the Petersen Automotive Museum and the George C. Page Museum currently stand. The building will cover 300,000 square feet and "may feature exhibits tracing the history of movies, galleries focused on specific filmmaking crafts and a theater." The plan is to raise $200 million for the endeavor and the timeline of the project may fully depend on how fast they can get the money together (the last real effort was in 2005 and was shut down due to the economic downturn).
Given how much of the city is dedicated to making movies, the fact that Los Angeles doesn't have the biggest film museum in the world is kind of a joke. There's so much incredible history to be mined and it all exists in one county. I can't think of any reason why anyone wouldn't want this project to happen.
