The Broad Museum places final steel beam on expansion

The Broad marked a major construction milestone with a topping-out ceremony celebrating the placement of the final steel beam for the museum’s expansion project in downtown Los Angeles.

Civic leaders, museum officials and construction partners gathered at the museum Wednesday morning for a ceremonial beam signing before the beam was lifted into place by crane, completing the building’s steel framework.

Speakers included Los Angeles City Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, Edythe L. Broad, the museum’s co-founder, and Joanne Heyler, the museum’s founding director and president.

“The expansion will create entirely new encounters with works that challenge and move us, placing fresh lenses on our growing collection,” Heyler said. “We are building this new space to extend our deep commitment to reaching a wide audience and creating an institution designed to inspire in inclusive, generative ways.”

The expansion is scheduled to open in 2028 ahead of the Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Games. Museum officials said the project will increase gallery space by 70% and allow more works from the Broad’s contemporary art collection to be displayed publicly.

“As Los Angeles prepares to welcome the world for the 2028 Games, we must invest in arts and culture in ways that expand access and reflect the diversity and creativity that define our city,” Jurado said. “The Broad’s expansion is a major investment that strengthens Downtown and reinforces LA’s place as a global center for art, inclusion, and innovation.”

The Broad’s “future gallery and programming space will bring you closer to the work of artists you can consistently see in depth only at The Broad — by Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jeff Koons, Kara Walker, and so many others — as well as artists new to the collection — such as Cauleen Smith, Lauren Halsey, and Patrick Martinez,” according to museum officials.

“The millions who have already visited tell us how much The Broad matters to Los Angeles, and this expansion will open the collection to even more people, in new and unexpected ways, than we ever thought possible,” Broad said.

The new structure will include galleries across multiple floors, outdoor courtyards and flexible live programming spaces for performances, concerts and educational events, museum officials said.

Visitors will also gain expanded access to the museum’s art storage vaults through new exhibition-style viewing areas.

On April 9, 2025, Heyler and Broad joined civic, cultural and business leaders for a groundbreaking ceremony marking the start of construction on the expansion.