‘Momentous time:’ Oceanside Museum of Art and city sign new agreement

An amended lease along with new city and state funding will allow the Oceanside Museum of Art to renovate and expand its Pier View Way campus by moving into the city’s next-door Fire Station No. 1 built in 1929.

The agreement marks a “momentous time” for the 30-year-old museum, said Allyson Handley, a member of the OMA’s board of directors and president of the executive committee.

“This will enable us to flourish,” Handley said. The expansion will boost the present 20,000-square-foot campus to 30,000 square feet with additional space for classrooms, rotating exhibitions, and a permanent collection to showcase the region’s artists.

The museum’s lease of the city’s property began Oct. 6, 1997, and goes through Oct. 5, 2052. The amended lease approved Dec. 3 by the Oceanside City Council gives OMA two optional extensions of 22 years each, for a combined total term of up to 99 years.

The council also agreed to contribute up to $1.5 million toward the renovation of the fire station, with the museum to raise the rest of the money needed.

The fundraising received a huge boost Dec. 9 with state Sen. Catherine Blakespear’s announcement of $3.59 million in state funding for the museum.

“This investment will not only expand access to the arts for local residents, improving the quality of life for the community, but will continue the growth and development of downtown Oceanside into a center for culture and tourism,” Blakespear said.

Blakespear attended a check presentation ceremony with Oceanside Mayor Esther Sanchez, museum Executive Director Maria Mingalone and other officials and guests outside the old fire station.

“OMA was started as a dream by a handful of volunteer citizens over 30 years ago,” Mingalone said. “This generous grant is a huge part of the next transformative chapter in OMA history, and will help to define North County’s cultural arts future, creating a lasting legacy of historic preservation, creativity, and civic pride.

“OMA is now in the final stretch of a $10 million capital campaign to expand and modernize the Pier View Way campus,” she said. “We are grateful to all of the individual donors, community organizations, foundations, and civic leaders who helped to get us to this amazing milestone.”

Construction could begin April 30, 2027, if fundraising goals are met and final plans are approved, officials said.

“This historic renovation represents everything we value in Oceanside — preserving our cultural and historic heritage while building our future,” Oceanside Mayor Esther C. Sanchez said in a news release.

“Arts and culture are essential to building vibrant and economically resilient communities,” Sanchez said. “By investing in institutions like the world-class Oceanside Museum of Art, we’re creating the kind of destination where people want to live, work, and visit.”

The City Hall on Pier View Way was built in 1934. It was replaced by a larger building in the nearby Civic Center in the mid-1980s.

The old fire station was vacated in September 2024, when firefighters moved into their new station at the corner of North Freeman Street and Civic Center Drive.

The museum has engaged the San Diego architectural firm Safdie Rabines to prepare the architectural plans and specifications for the renovations needed to update the old fire station while preserving its historical significance.

A seismic retrofit and an elevator are needed for the retrofit of the old fire station building, along with the removal of hazardous materials, according to a city report. The exterior and interior walls will remain in place.

In 2008, the museum completed its first major expansion with the construction of a three-level, 15,000-square-foot pavilion on what had been a parking lot between the old fire station and city hall.

Designed by Frederick Fisher and Partners of Los Angeles, the modern building now serves as the primary exhibit space and administrative offices, and the original 5,000-square-foot City Hall building houses the museum’s gift shop.

Noted Southern California architect Irving Gill designed the original City Hall, the fire station and a police station that was attached to the fire station.

Gill’s work was known for his pioneering use of reinforced concrete, clean geometric forms, and unadorned surfaces. He died in 1936 at age 66. His influence can be seen in Oceanside’s present-day Civic Center, the new Fire Station No. 1, and other buildings in Oceanside and across the region.

Nearly 30,000 people visit the museum every year, including more than 6,200 students, mostly third- and fifth-graders in youth art education programs.