OCEANSIDE - Workers scurried Wednesday around the inside of the expanded Oceanside Museum of Art, painting bannisters for the central staircase and preparing shades for towering glass windows that provide a view of the downtown skyline.

Such final touches pave the way for four days of grand opening events at the end of February that culminate years of fundraising and planning for the growing museum.

"I think before they're finished, the Oceanside museum will be one of the cornerstones of the county's museums," said James Aitchison, an Encinitas artist who has exhibited his paintings at the museum. The museum's leaders are very inclusive, he said, pointing to exhibits from a variety of cultures that reflect Oceanside's diverse population.

"They're a wholesome, egoless group. The museum is their ego," said Aitchison.

Located at 704 Pier View Way in a building designed in 1934 by renowned San Diego architect Irving Gill, the museum board and others raised $5.35 million in three years for the ambitious expansion, including a $1 million grant from the city in 2005. The museum's new building, built on a parking lot next to the current facility, boosts the square footage from 5,000 to 21,000 square feet, including two new galleries, a plaza area for social events and fundraisers, and meeting and storage space.

The additional galleries will allow the museum to always have an exhibit on display. With only one gallery, there are weeks with no exhibits while the museum sets up and takes down exhibits, said Beth Smith, the museum's assistant director.

The new two-story building, which has a basement, was designed by Los Angeles architect Frederick Fisher to complement Gill's modernistic style.

Because cost overruns have raised the project's price tag from $4 million to $4.8 million, the museum has started another fundraising campaign to cover a second phase of expansion. The museum plans to build an auditorium and house the museum's school of art in what is now Fire Station No. 1 next door. The building was designed by Gill in 1929.

The work on the second phase is scheduled to begin after the city builds a downtown fire station in the next couple of years and leaves the historical building for the museum. The addition would bump the museum to 32,000 square feet.

Smith described the museum as a key player in a downtown area that is becoming more and more of a destination point -- 52,000 people visited the museum last year and 40 percent came from outside North County, according to museum leaders.

"We have a wonderful harbor, the pier, one of the best beaches in Southern California and the community deserves a first-class, multifaceted museum," she said.

Carolyn Mickelson, who sits on the museum's board and is a member of the city's Arts Commission, said the completion of the first phase of expansion is an emotional time for her.

"It's kind of like, after all this work, a lot of time and energy, to see the fruits of all that work coming to life, it really is quite amazing," she said.

Oceanside's museum stands out among others in the region because of its eclectic exhibition schedule, Mickelson said.

"We run the gamut from photography to furniture, quilts and painting, traditional art to very avant-garde stuff," she said. "What makes us different is, we're willing to take a chance and risk stepping out."

Mickelson used as an example a series of water colors painted by architect James Hubbell after the 2003 wildfires that the museum exhibited and some conceptual art by several local Latino artists.

Aitchison, who for many years had a studio in Oceanside, credits the museum with helping Oceanside gain the respect of the art community in downtown San Diego.

"Ten years ago, it was very difficult for me to talk my collectors into coming into my studio," he said. "Oceanside is now a little beach city to be reckoned with and I really think it's all due to what that museum has done."

To contact the museum, call (760) 721-2787 or go to www.oma-online.org.

- Contact staff writer Marga Kellogg at (760) 901-4067 or mkellogg@nctimes.com.

Grand opening Events

• Feb. 27 -- Invitation-only reception for donors to the capital campaign, board members, city leaders and architects.

• Feb. 28 -- Invitation-only reception for lenders to the exhibition, area museum directors, San Diego County leaders, media and art teachers.

• March 1 -- Reception for museum members.

• March 2 -- An open house and ribbon cutting will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. and will be free to the public.