Los Angeles Revisited: Beneath the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, Exposition Park

February 2024
(Courtesy of Gary Leonard)

From Low Slung to High Soaring

A building comprised of administrative offices for the California Science Center was demolished to make room for the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, the final home of the Space Shuttle Endeavour.

But in March 1961, the site was the new $2,375,000 Science Wing of the then-called California Museum of Science and Industry. Its exterior featured a large barrel-vaulted roof, and the inaugural show that lasted for many decades was "Mathematica: A World of Numbers - And Beyond" created by the Offices of the highly regarded designers Charles and Ray Eames.

The former 1961 Science Wing later became the West Administrative Offices
(June 2017)

The museum's expansion eastward brought the Hall of Health opening June 1968. The "Transparent Woman" 100-seat theater was the exciting opening exhibit following a month-long fiasco and delay in May after Governor Ronald Reagan slashed their staff budget.

The former Hall of Health was repurposed for the East Administrative Offices
(June 2017)

In May 2022, the two buildings as well as the below-mentioned auditorium were actively cleared out for the future Air and Space Center.

The remainders of the 1961 Science Wing with its barrel-vaulted roof in its final days
(May 2022)

George E. and Mattie B. Kinsey at Expo Park

Glaucus "George" Edward Kinsey and his wife Mattie greatly influenced development of Expo Park in the mid-20th century. The Kinsey name and their funding support were attached to the Kinsey Hall of Health as well as the G.E. and Mattie B. Kinsey Auditorium - commonly referred to as the Kinsey Auditorium.

Kinsey's wealth came from L.A. real estate starting in the 1930s. In 1955 he was appointed to the board of directors of the Sixth District Agricultural Association that controlled Expo Park and the Memorial Coliseum. He also championed the construction of the Sports Arena, a 1959 venue meant to bring in conventioneers and trade shows in addition to sporting events.

Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
(Postcard from blogger's collection)

Courtesy of the Seaver Center for Western History Research
Natural History Museum of L.A. County
(GC1299.1)

A street nearby carried his name (1966) but no longer
(Courtesy of ProQuest LA Times Historical Archives)

Kinsey Auditorium

The 500-seat auditorium was completed in 1974 but has been demolished for the air and space center. This blogger deeply regrets not having taken a photo of the auditorium that was described to have been designed with white colonnades. As it was a California State facility, plus its proximity to the California African American Museum, it seemed to have served its purpose in the 25+ years of events as seen in past newspaper articles and announcements.

Seemingly the first event booked was a State Senate subcommittee hearing in November 1974. Throughout the life of the auditorium there were such civic meetings including a 1986 hearing on the effects of Proposition 63, the "English-only" initiative.

Free cultural and music events were the norm. In December 1974 the new auditorium hosted Jazz Week. A sampling of other happenings:

Young Audiences of Greater Los Angeles, jazz concerts, March 31-April 4, 1975
Film screening of "The Prince and the Showgirl" a 1957 film starring Laurence Olivier & Marilyn Monroe, April 20, 1975
Screenings of a series of Alfred Hitchcock films, January 12, 1977
John C. Fremont High School Performing Arts class vinyl album recorded at Kinsey, circa 1976/1977
"Black Talkies on Parade" film screenings by and about African Americans, February 15-18, 1977
Brockman Gallery (Fourth Annual) Film Festival, May 12-15, 1977
Electronic music by local composers including CSUN, CalArts, CSU Dominguez Hills and CSULA, May 27, 1977
"Odessa" theatrical performance, July 30, 1977
"Filmvid" a marathon of independent student & experimental noncommercial films and videos, November 9, 1977
"Is Pride a Man?" theatrical performance, January 26-27, 1978
"Our Extraterrestrial Heritage from UFOs to Space Colonies" symposium, January 28, 1978
Memorial jubilee for artist Charles W. White, after October 3, 1979
Polish lectures and performances, Winter 1979 through Spring 1980
KKGO jazz, December 28, 1980
Albert "Tootie" Heath Sextet jazz, September 27, 1981
"Flight by Muscle and Brain" February 19, 1985
Marcus Garvey Centennial Exhibition in honor of his 101st birthday, August 12, 1988
Memorial celebration for Nigerian drummer Babatunde Olatunji, October 17, 1997
Paul Robeson Centennial community concert and celebration, October 25, 1998
Millenium King Cross-Cultural Festival of the Arts, late January 2000

It was a venue for improving lives, too:

Youth Summit, October 1999
"Mothers in Action" town hall, 1999
Career Fair, August 2000 (held in the patio)

California African American Museum

Its closest neighbor, the California African American Museum was erected in 1983 and opened in 1984 just in time for the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Before it was built, the then-called California Museum of Afro-American History and Culture in 1981 acquired 4,800 square feet of space at the Museum of Science and Industry. For all its time in Exposition Park, Black culture was celebrated in the Kinsey Auditorium which was a hop skip and a jump away.

Event listings in the newspapers seem to dissipate after the year 2000. Perhaps the auditorium lost its luster and funding, since the California Museum of Science and Industry temporarily closed in 1996 to undergo a major overhaul and reopened in February 1998 as the California Science Center.