When did you last walk into the other Hancock Park, the 23 acres on Wilshire that hold the La Brea Tar Pits and LACMA? If it was before July, the park works differently now. The museum with the mammoths has gone dark. The new art galleries are open. Two different schedules decide the best time to go: a construction calendar and an admission policy.
The name is shared for a reason. According to the La Brea Tar Pits' official history, "Hancock Park was created in 1924 when he donated 23 acres of the ranch to the County of Los Angeles." "He" is G. Allan Hancock. The Windsor Square-Hancock Park Historical Society writes that the residential neighborhood "owes its name to developer-philanthropist G. Allan Hancock," who subdivided the Rancho La Brea property into a residential community. The society also notes that the donated tract was the site of the Hancock family home. In other words, the county park and the neighborhood came from the same land. For about the next two years, each half of that park is working on its own schedule.
The Tar Pits Side Works Weekdays, 7 to 7
The George C. Page Museum closed to the public after July 6, 2026, for roughly two years. Indoor exhibitions, ticketed museum experiences and general admission are all paused. Select outdoor areas and excavation sites are still open. The project is led by WEISS/MANFREDI and centers on a new Samuel Oschin Global Center for Ice Age Research. The Los Angeles Times reported that the full campus is expected to reopen in 2028, ahead of the Olympics.
The Natural History Museums' October 16 project update says the work is now in what it calls the Mammoth Phase. Grading and excavation are ongoing. Deconstruction of the building's exterior and interior continues, and so does structural support work for the Breezeway. Soil remediation and storm drain work were just starting. Temporary fencing has also gone up around electrical and plumbing work in a few spots outside the main construction fence. Posted construction hours are Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The update puts the mood of the project this way:
"We are renovating a museum where history is happening, and history-making will continue throughout renovations."
That line comes from the update linked on the Reimagine La Brea Tar Pits page. The project FAQ backs it with one firm commitment: the Project 23 excavation is expected to stay in public view during construction. The park as a whole stays open, but paths, green space and outdoor features close in phases as the work moves around the site. The fenced areas shift from phase to phase, so the phasing map is the thing to check before you plan a walk around a particular pit.
The phasing plan lays out the schedule:
| Construction zone | Window |
|---|---|
| Mammoth | Mid-August 2026 to early 2027 |
| Dire Wolf | Early 2027 to summer 2027 |
| Next zone | Summer 2027 to fall 2027 |
| Final zone | Fall 2027 to summer 2028 |
Weekends are the only days the Tar Pits side has no scheduled construction. That gap is the reason the art side matters so much right now.
The Art Side Is Free on Weekday Afternoons
LACMA's David Geffen Galleries opened with a ceremony on April 19, 2026. Members and donors had the first two weeks, and general admission began May 4. The permanent collection no longer follows the usual sequence of periods and regions. LACMA's own guide describes more than 80 presentations organized around the Atlantic, Mediterranean, Indian and Pacific Oceans.
The policy that matters most to a neighbor is on the tickets page. L.A. County residents with valid ID get in free after 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. Everyone gets in free on the second Tuesday of each month. Outside those windows, an adult county resident pays $25, compared with $30 for someone from outside the county. Youth and teens who live in the county are free every day.
Put that next to the construction calendar and the tradeoff is plain. The free window for residents falls entirely inside the construction day, which runs until 7 p.m. next door. The weekend, when construction is off, is when residents pay. A free weekday visit to the galleries comes with an active job site across the lawn. A quiet weekend in the park comes with a $25 ticket.
LACMA's posted hours set how long that free window lasts:
- Monday, Tuesday, Thursday: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., so three free hours after 3 p.m.
- Friday: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., so five free hours, the longest stretch of the week
- Saturday and Sunday: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., paid admission for adults
- Wednesday: closed, along with Thanksgiving and Christmas
Friday is the best day of the week for a resident. Construction stops at 7 p.m., the galleries stay open until 8, and that last hour is both free and free of construction.
What to See Before the Calendar Turns
Several current shows have hard closing dates, and the free hours help most when they are spent on something about to leave.
Danse Macabre: Death in Print from Dürer to Dix and Pablo Picasso: Portraits in Disguise both close December 6, 2026. The last free second Tuesday before they close is November 10, which also lets in visitors from outside the county, so it suits a weekday visit with houseguests. Eileen Cowin: Between Panic and Paradise and Collecting Impressionism at LACMA both run through January 3, 2027.
Home of the Future, 1925–1985: Designing Domestic Utopias and The Kitchen and Its Discontents share the Resnick Pavilion through March 14, 2027. Textile Alchemy: The Art of Reiko Sudō & NUNO runs through March 7, 2027.
The newest show is The Brockman Gallery: Los Angeles, 1967–1990. It fills BCAM's first level with more than 60 works and archival material and runs October 18, 2026, through January 24, 2027. At the end of the year, Roberto Gil de Montes: Water Drops on Burning Rocks opens December 20 and stays through June 20, 2027.
The Next Few Weeks, in Order
The near-term dates fall on both sides of the park:
- Now through Sunday, November 1: Metro's D Line Wilshire/Fairfax station is closed, with buses running in its place. Anyone who has started taking the train from Wilshire/La Brea to the museum should plan around it this week.
- Friday, October 30, 11 a.m.: One of the last La Brea Tar Pits Insider Tours, which are held outdoors while the museum is closed. Adult tickets are $125, or $100 for members, and child tickets are $105, or $80 for members.
- Friday, October 30, 6 to 8 p.m.: Hiroshima closes the October Jazz at LACMA series on Smidt Welcome Plaza. The fall guide lists the Friday concerts as free with no RSVP required. If you get there after 3 p.m., you can see the galleries for free before the music starts.
- Sunday, November 1: The last day Insider Tour tickets are offered. Tours run at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
- November 18 to 23: LACMA's Third Weekends. The program includes a sound bath inside the David Geffen Galleries on November 21, at $20 or $15 for members, and Double Dutch at LACMA, which is free with an RSVP.
- December 17 to 21: The December Third Weekends, ending with a Solstice Sound Bath on December 21 from 6 to 7 p.m., at $20 or $15 for members.
For any other Third Weekends program, check the price at checkout, since LACMA's printed guide and its website list different figures for some events.
When the Mammoth Phase Ends
The Mammoth Phase is scheduled to end in early 2027, and the Dire Wolf zone takes over from then until summer 2027. Each handoff moves the fence lines, so the park's walkable parts will keep changing well into 2028. A 2025 Urbanize LA report on the master plan says it includes renovated entrances at Wilshire and Curson and at 6th Street near LACMA's service drive.
Until then, the art side has the open doors, and the hours that matter for residents are weekday afternoons after 3, Friday evenings until 8 and the second Tuesday of each month.
I grew up in the Hancock Park area and still live here, a short drive from these 23 acres. If you have questions about the park, the Hancock land it came from, or how the neighborhood that shares its name took shape, Ali Jack is always glad to talk. Let's Connect.
