Exposition Park is on the cusp of a grand transformation, with an updated master plan on the way and new museums and sports stadiums remaking its eastern and western fronts.  Now, one of the park's most venerable institutions is also joining the fray.

Earlier today, the Los Angeles Times reported that 104-year-old Natural History Museum announced plans for a "significant makeover" led by Frederick FIsher and Partners Architects.  THe project calls for replacing an auditorium on the west end of the museum with a three-story expansion, adding approximately 60,000 square feet of space to the facility.  Renderings portray a glass box, featuring a double-height entry hall and a rooftop restaurant facing towards the future Lucas Museum.

Additionally, the redesign would involve turning the building's southern facade into a "front porch" for the museum.  Proposed changes include "smoothing" the staircase leading to the main entry, as well as the addition of a new glass band along its lower level to introduce natural light into a hallway connecting to the expansion.

The project, when built, would represent the second major addition to the Natural History Museum in recent years, following the Otis Booth Pavilion which opened at its north side in 2013.