It’s often and inaccurately said that old dogs aren’t much for picking up new tricks, but what about an ancient fossil site that’s ready for its next future-forward phase? The past and tomorrow meld quite well in this particular instance, if the trio of early concepts for the refreshed La Brea Tar Pits, and what’s to come for the Hancock Park-based museum and fossil excavations, are any proof.

For the 12-acre site, which sits along Wilshire Boulevard near Fairfax Avenue, hasn’t received a real rethink in over four decades. That’s about to change, with possible new buildings, new walkways, and updated experiences to roll out in the years ahead at the celebrated destination, which is overseen by the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County.

Several spectacular renderings created by three architectural firms were released on Aug. 26, 2019, giving mammoth mavens and devotees of the dire wolf a look at what may be ahead for the museum and active excavation sites. The team behind this massive undertaking is looking forward to learning what the public thinks of these possible paths for the tar pits.

As for the famous mammoth statute, the one that been stuck in the tar for decades now? Even that icon has a cameo in a rendering or two, proving that things from the past can find their way into the future.