Nearly 3,000 visitors get sneak peek of The Broad Museum

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The Broad Museum, a contemporary art museum that is set to open on Sept. 20, offered Los Angeles residents a mid-construction sneak peek on Sunday.

Tickets for the rare look into the museum sold out within 30 minutes. Nearly 3,000 visitors wandered around the Broad as a special light and sound installation filled the massive space.

"I'm overwhelmed, love the light. I'm speechless, basically," said Jonathan Narviez, of Long Beach.

The third floor gallery is nearly an acre and the raw space was unfurnished, with no walls or art.

The museum also features the largest elevator in the city, which is just big enough to accommodate the largest piece in the massive contemporary art collection.

"I didn't even know it was an elevator. I thought people were just standing around. I walked in and it was a pretty cool experience," Ann Shih said.

The $140 million showcase on Grand Avenue is being built by philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad to house nearly 2,000 works of art from their foundation and personal collection.

It looks like the newest downtown museum is already making a big impression on the Los Angeles community without even featuring a single piece of art.

"Where are they going to put the walls up? Are they going to add light or are they going to depend on the natural light for the art? So I'll be really curious to see what they do," said April Economides, of Long Beach.