The following museums have
been visited by Dave. This section will be updated as time permits and
as we visit additional museums.
The Armand Hammer Museum of Art & Cultural Center is operated by UCLA
and is located at 10899 Wilshire Blvd. This museum's main showcase is
"art of the present time", however they do have permanent galleries of
van Gogh, Monet, Rembrandt & more. Armand Hammer was a contemporary of
Norton Simon (see Norton Simon Museum below) and often found himself
bidding against Norton Simon for high-priced art. Pricing is very
reasonable. Museum admission is free every Thursday - they are closed
Mondays. They open at 11am. Be sure to have the museum validate your
parking pass - parking is located under the museum itself. We will
include more information here after an upcoming visit. More
info:
www.hammer.ucla.edu or Phone (310) 443-7000
Autry Museum of Western Heritage is located at 4700 Western
Heritage Way in Los Angeles. This museum contains several museums
including the Southwest Museum of the American Indian and the
Museum of the American West. Note that these two museums are located
in entirely different sections of Los Angeles (American Indian Museum
234 Museum Drive in Griffith Park - exit Zoo Drive off of the 5, and the American West
Museum is at 4700 Western Heritage Way just off the 110 - Exit Ave 43). Rotating
exhibits also come through this museum. More info:
www.autrynationalcenter.org
The famous Huntington Gardens & Art Collection in San Marino
(1151
Oxford Road) is a must visit during your trip to
Los Angeles. Its located in San Marino/Pasadena - from downtown take the
110 (Harbor Freeway) north which turns into Arroyo Seco Blvd - then turn
right on California and follow the signs to the entrance. This is a real
gem - the botanical gardens are huge, they have one of the best if not
the best cactus garden we have seen (12 acres in size) as well as nine
other distinct gardens. Over 14,000 species are represented in these
gardens spread out over 120 acres. You can easily spend several hours in
the gardens alone. A conservatory is also on the grounds and contains a
cloud forest which "rains" quite often - don't worry its
mostly mist and
you won't get very wet!
If this museum only contained the Botanical Gardens it would be a real
treasure but there are three very well organized art galleries and the
main library building. Over 6 million books are contained within its
walls - including first edition Shakespeare's, a Gutenberg Bible and
a manuscript of
Chaucer's, The Canterbury Tales. Some of their books date from the
1400's and are in incredibly good condition. Gainsborough's Blue Boy is
housed in one of the galleries along with many
other works by Gainsborough.
The main Huntington house is currently undergoing renovation in late
2006 and won't be open for a year or two. Thankfully photography is
allowed in any of the galleries (no flashes). For more information
browse some of our photos below and or visit their website at:
www.huntington.org
Total recommended visiting time including the gardens and galleries is
3-5 hours.
Huntington Library Photographs
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Tall white Cactus |
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Art Gallery |
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Round Cactus |
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Sculpture room |
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Art Gallery |
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Cactus Garden |
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Main Library |
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Lemon Cactus |
The Huntington Library,
Art Collections and Botanical Garden’s newest addition, The Garden of
Flowing Fragrance, will be the largest Chinese Garden outside of China
and boasts a 4.5-acre garden allowing visitors to stroll around a
1.5-acre lake bordered by Tai Hu rocks and a landscape that includes
five hand-carved stone bridges, a stream, and a canyon waterfall
connection to the Japanese Garden. The first phase of The Huntington’s
Chinese Garden opened on February 23, 2008.
The Japanese American National Museum
is located at 369 East First Street in Los Angeles. We will provide a
review after a visit during one of our upcoming trips. Exhibition rotate
and change on a continuing basis. In the meantime visit:
www.janm.org
The La
Brea Tar Pits are located at the Page Museum in the
"Miracle Mile" section of Wilshire Blvd. The address is 5801 Wilshire
Blvd; the grounds take up several acres on the north side of Wilshire
right next to the LA County Museum of Art (www.lacma.org).
Visiting this museum followed by a walk around the grounds is a unique
and interesting experience. These tar pits sit right in the middle of a
very urban area - with tall buildings, next to a busy boulevard (Wilshire).
How things have changed over the years here!
Start your visit with a
quick stop next to the main tar pit/pool where the your can see grazing
concrete "wooly mammoths". Next climb above the main museum up the
stairs so that you can get an overlook of the grounds and see the
atrium.
The La Brea Tarpits are a series of tar pits in the ground. Over the
years animals and plants became entangled in these - often becoming
"prey" for predators who then found themselves stuck in the ground.
These tarpits are a great history of what types of animals and plants
were found in the area over thousands of years. There is one pit (simply
named "Pit 91" that is still being excavated even today - (its typically
only open in the summer months). It is open for viewing for free to the
public on the grounds of the museum during the excavation season.
Upon entering the museum - you should get your tickets first - the
bathrooms are located on the right side of the entrance and you actually
have to enter through a small swinging gate. Typically you start your
tour at in a clockwise direction entering the museum to the left of the
entrance, however you can always run the tour in a counter clockwise
direction. Highlights of this museum include a wall with several hundred
skulls from a specie of wolf that was found in the pits. Additionally
you can feel small standing next to a 13 foot huge wooly mammoth
skeleton. Did you know North America had Lions at one point? There are
several nice skeletons of the North American lion - to an untrained eye,
they closely resemble the African Lion, except the North American Lions
are quite a bit bigger. Other skeletons you don't want to miss are the
Saber Tooth Tiger, and the giant ground sloth. A center "office" in the
museum has been windowed off, and sometimes you can see paleontologists
working - among all of the fossils. The paleontologists call this room
the "fish bowl" laboratory!
There is film about the museum and the tar pit finds shown at 30 minute
intervals all day. It contains with excellent cinematography and is
overall very well done. Do not miss watching this.
After you visit the museum be sure to walk the grounds. If you've never
seen or touched natural tar this is your chance! The major pits are
sectioned off and you cannot enter them. There are however some small
seeps coming right up through the grass and into the small stream that
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One nearby tree has been the unfortunate recipient of
"tar pit graffiti". Beware if you touch the tar, it will eventually come
off but its very sticky and isn't easily removed.
More information and pricing, visit
www.tarpits.org
The
Long Beach Museum of Art
is located at 2300 East Ocean Blvd
in Long Beach. Fridays are free. For more info visit:
www.lbma.org
The
Museum of Latin American Art
is located at 628 Alamitos Ave
in Long Beach. This is the only museum in the Western USA that
exclusively features contemporary Latin American Art. Permanent and
rotating exhibitions. Visit:
www.molaa.org
The
Museum of Television and Radio is located in Beverly Hills
and has another location in New York. Admission is free but donations
are suggested. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays. We will visit this museum
during an upcoming trip. Stay posted. Visit:
www.mtr.org
The
Museum of Tolerance is located at 9786 West Pico Blvd is
associated with the famous Simon Wiesenthal Center (which is actually
located across the street). Parking is in a multi-story underground
garage and is free with admission to the museum. There is a security
checkpoint before you enter the garage and another security checkpoint
before you actually enter the museum exhibits. Note that no cameras or
filming devices are allowed in the museum including cell phone cameras.
You will not be allowed into this museum unless you have a photo id.
This museum's purpose is two-fold; to raise awareness about the dynamics
of racism & prejudice in America and to explore what happened during the
terrible Holocaust of WWII.
This museum is a semi self guided tour (explained below). Allow at least
two hours here. You start out in a small group with a guide who leads
you downstairs and stops your group in front of two doors. A volunteer
is chosen and then the guide asks her to enter the museum by choosing
the door on the left if she considers herself racist in any regard, and
to choose the door on the right if she considers herself not racist at
all. Hint, if you choose the door for being "not racist" you will be
fighting against a locked door!
This is a very interactive museum - videos & demo's all invite your
participation. Exhibits on the war in Bosnia & Rwanda are in the first
section of the museum before the Holocaust section. This is a
semi-guided tour in that you are not given the freedom to wander through
all the exhibits at your leisure. You are given a time limit in certain
sections of the museum, and then you have to move to the next section.
The Holocaust exhibits are timed so that the doors leading into the next
sections open only after you have seen all the exhibits in the section
you are in. Each display in a particular area lights up a description is
read and then fades into darkness. Once you leave the Holocaust section
you are free to explore the rest of the museum. One nice feature of the
Holocaust exhibit is you are given a "biographical card" of a person
that was in the Holocaust. As you make your way through this exhibit
there are several "bio" machines; you put the card into one of these
machines and it tells you all about the person listed on your card and
you can even print out the information.
Occasionally this museum will have well-known guest speakers. The museum
is closed Saturdays and for Public & Jewish holidays.
For more information visit:
www.museumoftolerance.com
The Natural History Museum of LA County is located in Exposition
Park - this is the 3rd largest Natural History Museum in the USA. For
more info visit:
www.nhm.org
The Norton Simon Museum located at 411 W. Colorado
Boulevard in Pasadena is home to over 2000
works of art from Western and Asian cultures. This is one of our
favorite museums in the LA Area. Norton Simon was a prolific collector
of rare art - he made his money initially from Hunt Food's Company and
then branched off into a variety of other well known businesses. Norton
Simon along with Armand Hammer (who he often bid against for rare works
of Art) were two of LA's serious art collectors in the 1950's through
the 1980's. This museum has four main galleries - 14th-16th century,
17th & 18th century, 19th century and a South Asian collection. They
have one of the best collections of Degas we have seen including his
paintings and sculptures. Also Raphael, El Greco, Rembrandt, Rubens, van
Gogh, Monet, Manet, and Picasso among others, are displayed. Rodin and
other sculptures line the front entrance and interior courtyard. One
room is devoted to the life and times of Norton Simon - be sure to pick
up the free "art of negotiation" book which describes how Simon acquired
select pieces. Also one gallery displays rotating photo exhibits.
Norton
Simon has a vast collection of South Asian artworks/sculptures, mainly
from India. This is housed on the lower floor while the other western
arts are housed on the first floor. Typically there are less people in
the South Asian exhibit so you can really take your time at each piece.
Need something to eat while visiting the galleries? The Garden Cafe sits in the courtyard at the edge of the pond.
Museum is closed on Tuesdays and note their opening time is a rather
late 12pm the rest of the week. Visit:
www.nortonsimon.org or Phone: (626) 44906840
Norton Simon Museum Photographs
The
Petersen Automotive Museum is located at
6060 Wilshire Blvd at Fairfax Blvd. They display rare and unique
collectible antique cars. More than 150 vehicles are exhibited. Closed
on Mondays. We have plans to visit this for the first time. Stay posted
for a review coming in late winter 2009. For more information visit:
www.petersen.org
The
Richard Nixon Presidential Library & Museum is located
at 18001 Yorba Linda Boulevard in Yorba
Linda. You can even see Nixon's restored childhood home on site. We plan on visiting this museum
very soon and will provide an
extensive write-up. Check back by late 2008 for our review. In the
meantime, visit:
www.nixonfoundation.org
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum
is located in a gorgeous hillside location overlooking Simi Valley (40
Presidential Drive - reached either from the 23 or 118 freeways) which
on a clear warm day is very impressive. Get here early on any good
weather weekend - the crowds start arriving late morning and the museum
opens at 10am. There are several parking lots available by their own
entrances and during busy days parking often backs up well down the
hillside road leading to the actual library. We've noticed that later in
the day new arrivals see the long line of parked cars leading down the
road and choose the first open space they see. However, we have left the
upper main parking lots and have noticed a few empty spots by mid
afternoon; in other words if you arrive mid to late afternoon its worth
at least driving up the main lots in case there are some empty spots.
The museum opened in 1991 and
provides an extensive range of exhibits about Reagan's life. There are
many galleries, each one focusing on one aspect of Reagan's life. The
Gallery of Presidents contains original paintings of all US Presidents
which is next to the "welcome theatres" which provide good overviews of
Reagan's life. Other
highlights include replicas of the Oval Office, the Situation Room & the White House Rose
Garden. The video that runs every few minutes describing the
assassination attempt is quite popular. The real Presidential Limousine, Marine One Helicopter and Air
Force One that Reagan used are on display in a massive windowed building
which is perched on the edge of a hill overlooking Simi Valley.
Photographs are allowed outside of the plane (no flash) and anywhere
below the plane on the lower level as well as in the main galleries.
There is a red carpet leading to the actual Air Force One and once you
stand on this carpet, no photos are allowed. However, there is a
professional photographer who will snap your photo on the steps leading
into the plane (a victory V salute is appropriate at this point) and
your photo will be available for purchase on the lower level once you
disembark the plane. A mandatory short video about the history of AF 1
is played before you head out onto the "tarmac". We made a point to be
at the museum right before it opened and were able to make a beeline for
"the plane". As a result we were the *only* one inside the plane other
than the 2 docents. During some busy weekends the line to get inside is
very long. The inside of the plane is spacious, with several sections
for press and staff including the "black box".
Every US President since
Franklin D. Roosevelt, upon finishing his time in office, have had
Presidential libraries built for them.
During one weekend
when we visited, "Live history" displays were held in the main
courtyard. People were dressed in mid 1700's style and each person
played a specific role such as cook, blacksmith, or doctor. Crowds
gathered around their "station" and listened to era stories about their
specific trades. One person asked one of the cooks who was roasting
chicken in a fire pit if they purchased that at Albertson's. Being in
the 1740's mindset this person said that was not a word in his
vocabulary!
The museum often has prestigious speakers, events and historical
documents as well as rotating Reagan related exhibits. Replica's of the
White House Rose Garden, and South Lawn are outside as well as Reagan's
Memorial Site. In addition look for an 8000 lb part of the Berlin Wall
including era graffiti on its walls. A Cafe is on site as well as a well
stocked gift shop. We recommend at least 3.5 to 4 hours here. For more information about this
library visit:
www.reaganfoundation.org and click on our thumbnail photos below:
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| Simi Valley View |
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Air Force 1 |
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Memorial |
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Dresses |
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Berlin Wall |
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Situation Room |
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Swearing in Suit |
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The "Gipper" |
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AF1 Underneath |
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Bronze Statue |
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AF1 Wheels |
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Belt Collection |
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AF1 |
The
Skirball Cultural Center
sits on 15 acres just off of the
405 freeway (you can see it from the freeway) - take the Mulholland
Drive Exit. There are several entrances so don't panic if you aren't in
the correct lane to enter their main entrance. Parking is in a garage
and is free. This museum explores
Jewish Culture and in part how it integrates into American life and
contains many items of historical interest. The museum
is closed on Mondays - every Thursday is free admission. Permanent and rotating exhibits
are on display. There are also often rotating presentations, film
screenings, workshops, and lectures. One exhibit is very sad. Reflective
bullet proof glass contains some of Hitler's personal signatures
regarding his directives against the Jewish people during WWII and
reflected in this glass are the large photos of those killed in the
Holocaust from a nearby exhibit.
An interesting exhibit contains photos of people - use the headphones
and touch each person's photo to "hear their story". This contains
people's stories from all walks of life. The Noah's Ark exhibit is quite
popular with families with children.
When we visited
there was a display about Bob Dylan, his musical influences, photography
and more. Several of the exhibits are interactive, letting you play the
drums or electric guitar along with a number of Dylan's songs. The stage
with the electric guitars was a bit intimidating for a non musician so
we busted our totally non musical side open by hitting the drums while
wearing earphones. No harm, no foul there. No singing. Safe.
Visit:
www.skirball.com for more information and view our thumbnail photos
below.
William S. Hart Park & Museum is located just north of Los Angeles at
24151 San Fernando Road in Newhall. William Hart was the first cowboy
movie start and made movies in the early part of the 1900's. This museum
is his former house and contains lots of relicts from his acting days.
Hiking trails and bison wander part of the property. Tours are free and
are guided by docents. Open 7-days a week. Visit:
www.hartmuseum.org |
