The first art museum in the Western United States opened its new 125,000 square-foot Teel Family Pavilion on Monday, tripling the size of the 125-year-old Crocker Art Museum on 216 O st.

To commemorate its opening, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. the Crocker Art Museum offered the public a free entrance to the new Teel Family Pavilion and held performances and exhibits throughout the day.

Activities and entertainment were showcased during the event, which included Salsa, Indian, Mexican, African, and Irish dance performances. The Sacramento Youth Symphony, Jazz Band, and Choir performed as well.

The largest gathering of art cars on the West Coast also took place on the lawn across the street from the new Teel Family Pavilion. Some of the cars allowed for spectators to interact with them. One car featured LEGO designs on the outside of it. Both kids and adults smiled as they placed their own LEGOs on the outside of the car. Another car had boxes of chalk surrounding it, and allowed people to draw their own designs and creations.

“I like the fact that we can vandalize it,” Skip Webber said while drawing on the car. “Me and my daughter are going crazy on it,” he said.

A street-legal car designed to look like a “Radio Flyer” wagon also received good responses from the public.

“It’s very fun and child-like. You want to ride in it. It’s making a lot of people smile,” Sacramento State alumna Sandy VanVleck said.

The opening celebration concluded with a laser show at 9:30 p.m.

The Crocker raised about $92 million to build the expansion.

Several speakers, including Mayor Kevin Johnson, spoke to the large and eager crowd waiting to enter the new building at 10 a.m.

“Millions and millions of people are going to come to Sacramento to see this art museum,” Johnson said. “This is our breakthrough moment. We talk about putting Sacramento on the map, we have done it today with a world-class facility,” he said. Johnson greeted and shook hands with the public as people walked through the front door.

Joyce Teel, owner of Raley’s grocery stores, and one of the largest contributors to the expansion, fought tears during the opening ceremony saying that her involvement in the expansion was the proudest thing she had done in her life.

New features of the Teel Family Pavilion include 45,000 square feet of permanent gallery space, 12,000 feet of temporary exhibition space, an education center and teacher resource center, two-story atrium and courtyard, 260 seat auditorium, café and more.

The museum is open Tuesday and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Thursday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission for adults is $10, seniors and college students pay $8, youth entrance is $5 and children under six get in free. Every third Sunday of the month the Crocker Art Museum opens its doors for free.

Tzahuiztil Sanchez can be reached at [email protected]