Museum plan skeptics cite congestion fear
Opponents of the proposed Armenian American Museum project in Glendale voiced concerns at a public forum this week over the potential for traffic and parking problems, while backers endorsed the potential of creating a cultural hub and community resource.
More than 100 people packed a St. Gregory Armenian Catholic Church meeting room for a forum organized by the museum development committee.
The proposed project site, a 1.37-acre, city-owned parking lot, is at the corner of Mountain Street and Verdugo Road. It is adjacent to the church where the forum took place, across from Glendale Community College and abutting a residential neighborhood.
While some residents say they’re not against the idea of a 30,000-square-foot museum, they’re not fans of the location.
“The museum should be in a central area of the city, where City Hall is, and there is a core civic center area,” resident Tom Searson said in a phone interview after the meeting.
“I think that’s probably the best location; there’s an infrastructure there. There’s shopping, all these things that will attract pedestrian traffic,” he said.
Adding a museum to the area could generate traffic the nearby streets can’t handle, he said.
Conceptual designs depict a two-story building with a facade resembling both local and Armenian mountains. Inside, there would be a library with research facilities, exhibitions and a coffee shop.
Teacher Taline Arsenian, who was among those at the meeting, called the location ideal, within walking distance of the college.
“I’m looking forward to this museum opening, to students from our community and neighboring communities being exposed to all of the cultural awareness and education they’re going to get,” she said.
Berdj Karapetian, chairman of the museum’s project development committee, said half of the exhibits would be permanent, while the other half would be traveling collections that feature other cultures, including Korean and Indian.
The committee isn’t looking into other sites for the museum, he said.
One resident asked why the design couldn’t reflect the architecture of nearby Spanish homes.
Architect Aram Alajajian said it was important to make the building distinctive.
“A museum is an iconic project,” he said. “An iconic building needs to stand out.”
In response to concerns over potential activities, Tigranna Zakaryan, the museum’s outreach director, said the property would not host weddings or other events “completely unrelated to what the museum stands for.”
Several residents of the adjacent Rossmoyne neighborhood said they were worried about traffic congestion.
A traffic study is planned, as are reviews by City Hall, and the Glendale City Council would have final approval.
But some things about museums and traffic are known, city traffic engineer Jano Baghdanian said at the forum.
Museums, he said, “do not generate traffic during peak hours; they generate traffic during the day.… A majority of museum visits occur on Saturdays and Sundays.”
As for parking, nearby lots have 176 spaces used by college students and visitors to the adjacent Glendale Civic Auditorium.
More than a year ago, the City Council granted an agreement with the museum’s committee not to lease the lot while a conceptual design was prepared.
While final details have a long way to go, the city has stipulated the museum must have an underground parking structure to make up for nearly 200 lost spaces, accessible to students, in addition to spaces for museum visitors.
Though there’s no price tag for the entire project, the first fundraising goal is $10 million, Zakaryan said.
She declined to say how much has been raised.