Time to celebrate the Southwest Museum’s tower

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Did you ever wonder what’s in the tower at the Southwest Museum?

At the moment, nothing. But not so long ago, the 115-foot-tall, seven-level structure was the storeroom for most of the museum’s 250,000-piece collection of Native American art and artifacts. Believe it or not, the heaviest items in the collection, 10,000 ceramic works, were kept on the top floor -- accessible only by a central spiral staircase.

Such are the charms and challenges of L.A.’s oldest museum, chartered in 1907 and opened in a quirky Mission Revival building on Mt. Washington in 1914. As staff members say, nobody who works at the Southwest needs a Stairmaster.

In the past, visitors didn’t need to worry about overexertion or bad knees. The tower, formally called the Caracol Tower because the helix pattern of its staircase resembles a caracol (Spanish for snail), was off limits to outsiders.

But from 2 to 4 p.m. on July 19, the museum will stage a free public celebration, marking the completion of a renovation that has given the tower a new roof and drainage system, filled cracks with epoxy and covered all surfaces with fresh plaster and paint. Visitors will be able to climb the stairs, check out the repairs and get a great view of the surrounding city.

The artworks formerly crammed into the tower have been moved to temporary storage in the galleries, as part of an enormous renovation and conservation project.

Read an update on what’s happening at the Southwest by clicking here or checking Sunday’s Arts & Books section.

--Suzanne Muchnic

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