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Natural History Museum

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1958, Flynn, Dalton, van Dijk and Associates; 1971–1972 renovations, Flynn, Dalton, van Dijk and Associates; 2002 planetarium, Westlake Reed Leskosky; 2016–present, expansion and restoration, Fentress Architects. 1 Wade Oval Dr.
  • (Photograph by Daderot)

The Natural History Museum first moved to Wade Oval in 1958. The following year a dinosaur exhibit and planetarium were added to the mid-century brick building. In 1968, the museum installed the beloved Louis P. Jonas Stegosaurus sculpture known as “Steggie.” The building was extensively renovated in 1971 by Flynn, Dalton, van Dijk and Associates, the same firm responsible for the original design. Westlake Reed Leskosky designed a new planetarium that was completed in 2002. In anticipation of the museum’s centennial in 2020, the board of trustees approved a major expansion and restoration that will begin in 2016 by the Denver-based firm Fentress Architects.

References

Waldek, Stephanie. “The Cleveland Museum of Natural History Gets a $150 Million Face-Lift for Its Centennial.” Architectural Digest(March 31, 2015). Accessed March 18, 2016. http://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/cleveland-museum-of-natural-history-150-million-expansion.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Wendy Hoge Naylor
Coordinator: 
Barbara Powers
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Data

Timeline

  • 1958

    Built

  • 1971

    Renovations

  • 2002

    New planetarium

  • 2016

    Expansion and Renovation

What's Nearby

Western Reserve Historical Society
Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland Botanical Garden
Cleveland Institute of Music
George Gund Building

Citation

Wendy Hoge Naylor, "Natural History Museum", [Cleveland, Ohio], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/OH-01-035-0072-08.

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