On January 14, the Huntington Library in San Marino, California opened the doors to its newly constructed visitor center, designed by Architectural Resources Group (ARG) on the grounds of prestigious gardens’ former parking lot. This first part of a larger 52,000 square foot project consists of an admissions area, a café, and a new museum shop.

The second part of the site, the Steven S. Koblik Education Center, containing an education center, a restaurant, a multi-purpose room and a lecture auditorium, will open this April. A glass dome covering an outdoor assembly area accentuates the entrance to the new lecture hall and multi-purpose room.

The new buildings are constructed in a historical style, reminiscent of the complex’s original architecture, conceived by Myron Hunt. The architects chose to split the project into several smaller buildings to accentuate the human scale and to create a linear “Mediterranean” garden walkway, designed by landscape architect Cheryl Barton.

Steven Koblik, president of the foundation, is particularly proud of the 42,000 square foot underground storage area for collections and institutional storage. The Steven S. Koblik Center will also be home to four newly acquired pieces of artwork: the Mutual Savings and Loan mural by mid-century artist Doyle Lane, a mural by Millard Sheets donated by Red H. and Bessie Ranke, Bicentennial Tapestries by Alexander Calder, and Jerusalem Stabile, a red 24-foot-tall iron statue by Alexander Calder.