@WakeUpCall – Waking Up with the House Whisperer

Heather Brooker hosts your Friday Wake Up Call. The House Whisperer Dean Sharp is back on Wake Up Call for another edition of ‘Waking Up with the House Whisperer!’ Today, Dean talks about the Lucas Narrative Art Museum and the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife crossing, both scheduled to open in 2026.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This might be one of my favorite moments all week.
LA is a city defined by bold ideas and two
architectural marvels now nearing completion. And we are going to
talk to the house whisper himself, Dean Sharp, about the
Lucas Museum of Narrative Art and the Wallace Annenberg Wildlife Crossing.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
Good morning, Dean, Good morning, Heather.

Speaker 1 (00:22):
So nice to talk with you. I am really excited,
especially about the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. Let's talk
about what stands out to you architecturally about this project
and how is it really reflecting George Lucas's vision for storytelling.

Speaker 2 (00:38):
Oh my gosh. I mean, first of all, not a
lot of people know that it's happening, which is shocking.

Speaker 1 (00:43):
It is shocking. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (00:44):
Huge. They took quite a while, several years to figure
out whether it was actually going to be in LA
or not. I think he initially wanted it up in
the Bay Area and it was going to have a
totally different look. But if you've been anywhere near Exposition
Park or the Colosseum, this is happening, literally right across
the street. It's a billion dollar construction project happening right

(01:09):
across the street, and you just you know, it's very
as you know I sent you these images. It's very,
very difficult to describe it other than it is some
kind of mothership spacecraft that has landed in La I
mean truly. And it's not it's not old and tattered
like the you know, like the spaceships in Star Wars

(01:32):
are designed to be. No, this is pristine and beautiful
and and there are there are hardly a straight wall
or plane in the entire complex. It also includes a
full park area outside with all sorts of space. There
is a solar on the roof. There is living roof

(01:55):
elements to it, there are green roof elements to it.
It is amazing. And it is the Lucas Museum of
Narrative Art, which always is a fascinating concept for me.
Narrative art meaning not just movies, but any art form
that essentially tells a story or a cultural setting. And

(02:16):
that is something that has just captivated and captured George
Lucas's imagination throughout the years, and so it's going to be.
It is a fine art museum. There are two absolutely
world class, cutting edge cinemas inside it. In addition to
gallery after gallery after gallery, and it is scheduled to

(02:38):
open in twenty twenty six.

Speaker 1 (02:40):
Wow, I personally am very excited for that. I'm a huge,
like Star Wars fan, anything nerdy like that. And yes,
I saw your pictures and just looks so so beautiful,
And I want to shift gears really quickly and talk
about the wildlife crossing. It's going to be over the
one o one freeway. It is the first of its
kind at this scale. How revolutionary is this structure from

(03:03):
a design and engineering standpoint.

Speaker 2 (03:05):
Well, from a design and engineering standpoint, you could say
that this is not not super complex compared to most
freeway overpasses, and it certainly doesn't have the juge of
the Lucas Museum. But you know, if you're traveling up
the one oh one corridor up out of the valley
and into Thousand Oaks or Ventura, you're going to pass

(03:28):
under the Wall of Sandenberg Wildlife Crossing, and its significance
is substantial. We're talking about the world's largest wildlife crossing
and something so significant to our region because we realized
several years ago with all of the deaths of Cougar's

(03:49):
Mountain lions in our area, that essentially development, especially the
freeway development in northern LA four five, the one oh one,
the five, we've essentially landlocked the Santa Monica Mountains. There
is no way for wildlife to get to and from
the Santa Monica's. If you're there, you're stuck. If not,

(04:11):
you've got a risk crossing a freeway, which of course
is when we see all of these animal deaths. Nor
is it healthy for that habitat, because an animal like
a mountain lion has a massive predatory range and the
Santa Monicas just do not handle it all. So a lot,
a lot of planning and thought went into this, a

(04:33):
lot of funding, and it's called the Wall of Sandenburg
Crossing because the Annenberg Foundation spearheaded the funding for it.
This is a freeway overpass over arguably the busiest freeway
in the world for animals and wildlife, and it connects
the Santa Monica National Region two the Semi Region next

(04:58):
to it, which means there is is a means by
which wildlife can get to and from and these are
proven to be effective. This is a large, big, beautiful
one and if you see it from the air, you'll
realize it looks like a freeway overpass while you're driving
on your car, but up on top of it, it
is nothing but an engineering marvel when it comes to

(05:19):
the fact that it's holding soil and terrain and plant
material up there, and it is a natural way of
wildlife getting from one side of the freeway to the other.

Speaker 1 (05:30):
Well, these are two huge projects and I know that
we will be looking forward to you sharing more about
them over the next year or so as they continue
to be developed. Dean Sharp. The House Whisper hosted by
Dean Sharp Arizon KFI here Saturdays from six am to
eight am and on Sundays from nine to noon. Thank
you so much, Dean, we'll talk soon.

Speaker 2 (05:52):
Thanks Heather