Category: Los Angeles Top List USA
Source: https://top-list.co/top-best-museums-to-visit-in-los-angeles-v2889.html
- Getty Center
- Huntington Library, Art Museum & Botanical Gardens
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
- Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
- The Broad
- Hammer Museum
- Natural History Museum
- Museum of Contemporary Art, MOCA
- Griffith Observatory
- Norton Simon Museum
- Petersen Automotive Museum
- Museum of Latin American Art
Getty Center
For many years, the great art collection of the J. Paul Getty Trust was housed in what is now known as the Getty Villa. However, the Getty Center debuted in 1997. The finished result is a magnificent complex of white metal and travertine-clad pavilions that display identifiable Impressionist artwork, opulent French furnishings, and changing exhibitions. Free entrance and expansive views that go from the hills and the beach in the west all the way around to downtown in the east more than make up for its relative accessibility.
One thing becomes clear after parking at the base and riding the electric tram up the hill: it’s a vast location, with artwork on show in four permanent pavilions, an exhibition space, and the nearby Getty Research Institute. The Impressionist artwork in the West Pavilion, especially Van Gogh’s Irises, never fails to draw large crowds. Only the East Pavilion’s recreations of baroque rooms can compare to the South Pavilion’s French decorative arts across the street. A number of Rembrandt’s masterpieces may be seen on the upper floors of that structure, so make sure to get there. The only artwork in the North Pavilion, which dates exclusively from before 1700, is a collection of illuminated manuscripts on the ground floor.
Without ever entering a gallery, you may leisurely meander through the Getty’s numerous courtyards, overlooks, and fountains and still feel content. The main attraction is Robert Irwin’s Central Garden, which features a cascading stream and a lush maze of hedges and walkways. Just past it is a garden with contemporary sculptures. A group of cacti in the front and a picture-perfect vista of the city are offered by the cactus garden in the southeast corner. Post up on any of the west-facing terraces of the pavilion for the best sunset views (if you can see the Central Garden and the mountains along the coastline, you’re gazing in the right direction).
Most tourists should be able to get by with the lively cafe by the entry and another one next to the Central Garden, while the restaurant (reservations advised) offers sit-down service for a more leisurely, opulent lunch. We would choose the most laid-back alternative; if you prefer the most laid-back choice, bring a picnic and set out a blanket on the museum’s sloping, south-facing lawn.
Google Rating: 4.8/5.0
Location: 1200 Getty Center DrLos Angeles90049
Contact: www.getty.edu
Phone: 310-440-7300
Price: Free admission; parking $20, after 4pm $15, after 6pm $10
Opening hours:Tue–Fri 10am–5:30pm, Sat 10am–8pm, Sun 10am–5:30pm; closed Mon
blogs.getty.edu
Huntington Library, Art Museum & Botanical Gardens
One of the most stunning sights in the Los Angeles area is currently Henry E. Huntington’s bequest. There is a lot to see between the art, the library collections, and the sprawled outdoor spaces, and most of it is better experienced at leisurely pace rather than as part of a frantic day-long rush. It’s also not a place that can be readily explored in its entirety in a single day. After paying entrance, you’ll be near to the main library, which has more than six million items—many of which are exclusively accessible to researchers—and holds them all (apply for credentials in advance of your visit). However, with regular themed temporary displays, some of its most important possessions, such as a Gutenberg Bible and the first copy of Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, are always on display in the adjacent exhibition hall.
Nearly as noteworthy is the art collection as the library’s. The main house, which was built in 1910, is where a highly significant collection of British art is kept. This collection includes Gainsborough’s The Blue Boy with pieces by Blake, Reynolds, and Turner. Additionally, there is a collection of American works in the more recent Scott and Erburu Galleries. Despite all of these cultural splendors, the Huntington’s outdoor highlights can be found in its enormous patchwork of botanical gardens, which are undoubtedly the most beautiful in the entire Los Angeles area. The 207 acres of gardens, 120 acres of which are open to the public, are divided into a number of themes: the Children’s Garden is a delightful combination of educational features and entertaining diversions; the Japanese garden is quietly, unassumingly magical; the Desert Garden, which is now a century old, is packed with cacti and other succulents. The Garden of Flowing Fragrance, a delicate setting created in part by Chinese artists, is the most recent addition. It has a Chinese motif.
Location: 1151 Oxford RdSan Marino
Contact:www.huntington.org
Phone: 626-405-2100
Price: Weekday: $25; seniors and students $21; children 4–11 $13, under-4s free. Weekend: $29; seniors and students $24; children 4–11 $13, under-4s free. Free to all 1st Thu of month (advance tickets required). Parking free.
Opening hours: Mon, Wed–Sun 10am–5pm; closed Tue
huntington.org
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
Over the past ten years, Chris Burden’s Urban Light, a work composed of 202 cast-iron street lamps collected from all over Los Angeles and brought back to life, has quickly established itself as one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks. Most visitors will undoubtedly associate the museum with this piece. But if you don’t go beyond the photogenic installation, you’d be doing yourself a disservice. Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is one of the Best Museums To Visit In Los Angeles. The collections at LACMA include modernist masterpieces, massive contemporary pieces (like Richard Serra’s massive swirling sculpture and Chris Burden’s buzzing, hypnotic tangle of toy cars in Metropolis II), and traditional Japanese screens, and by far the best special exhibitions in all of Los Angeles.
The 20-acre complex of buildings where LACMA has kept its encyclopedic collections, which have long been the most stunning in the city, has been quite the opposite. As a result, the eastern half of the campus has been leveled, and work is now begun on a replacement single-building that will reopen in 2024. In the meanwhile, LACMA’s permanent collections have been dispersed throughout the Resnick Pavilion and Broad Contemporary Art Museum (BCAM), both of which were designed by Renzo Piano (the much-loved modern collection specifically has been moved into the bright, spacious third-floor galleries in BCAM).
As for the artwork, you’ll find works by modern masters like Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, and local artist Ed Ruscha, as well as well-known modernists like Picasso, Mondrian, Klee, and Kandinsky, Impressionist and post-Impressionist works by artists like Cezanne, Gauguin, and Degas, a well-known collection of Islamic art, a ton of artwork from Africa, and, in the (currently closed)
Google Rating: 4.6/5.0
Location: 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles 90036
Contact: www.lacma.org323-857-6000
Price: L.A. County Residents: $20, seniors and students $16, 17 and under free; Mon–Fri after 3pm free. Non-residents: $25, seniors and students $21, ages 13–17 $10, 12 and under free. Free every second Tue of the month.
Opening hours: Mon, Tue, Thu 11am–6 pm; Fri 11 am–8 pm; Sat, Sun 10am–7 pm; closed Wed
timeout.com
Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
With the opening of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, Los Angeles now has a permanent home for the history of filmmaking. The museum includes four full floors of gallery space, two theaters (including a 1,000-seat space in that giant glassy sphere), a restaurant, and a gift shop. It is situated next to LACMA in the Wilshire May Company building, in a new and expanded space designed by Pulitzer Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano.
The collection includes the kinds of movie memorabilia you’d expect from those who organize the Oscars, including the Rosebud sled from Citizen Kane, Dorothy’s ruby red slippers, R2-D2 and C-3PO, the Dude’s robe from The Big Lebowski, the lone shark from Jaws that has survived, and the floral May Queen dress from Midsommar, among many others. A rotating collection of galleries devoted to particular creators and niche specialties are also available.
The museum’s special exhibitions, which are free with general admission, begin with a tribute to the legendary Studio Ghibli animator and director Hayao Miyazaki. This is followed by “Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898-1971,” which examines the contributions of Black artists over the course of nearly a century.
Reservations must be made in advance and can be made using the museum’s website or mobile application. Admission to all exhibitions is included in the ticket price of $25 for adults, $19 for seniors (62 and over), and $15 for students. Visitors 17 years of age and younger and California residents with an EBT card are admitted free of charge. An additional $15 will get you access to an immersive installation called the Oscars Experience. Free access is available to the foyer (which houses the modest Spielberg Family Gallery) and outdoor public areas.
Google Rating: 4.4/5.0
Location: 8949 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, 90211
Contact: www.academymuseum.org/en
Phone: 323-930-3000
Price: $25, seniors (62 and up) $19, students $15, free for visitors 17 and under and CA residents with an EBT card; Oscars Experience installation $15
Opening hours: Sunday–Thu 10am–6pm; Fri, Sat 10am–8pm.
The Broad
On Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, there is a museum of modern art known as The Broad, which is one of the Best Museums To Visit In Los Angeles. The museum bears the names of the billionaires Eli and Edythe Broad, whose $140 million construction project provided funding for the Broad art holdings. The galleries housing its permanent collection are open to the public without charge. Although some of its events are free to attend, entry costs may vary depending on the exhibit or the event. On September 20, 2015, it debuted.
The Broad is located in a brand-new structure created by Leslie E. Robertson Associates, a structural engineering firm, and the architecture firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro. An estimate of its price is $140 million. The museum’s design honors Frank Gehry’s landmark Walt Disney Concert Hall’s architectural prominence by having a porous, “honeycomblike” surface while contrasting with its bright metallic perforated façade. The “veil and the vault” motif served as the inspiration for the design. “The veil” is a translucent covering that encircles the entire structure and filters and transmits light into the interior space. A 650-ton steel foundation supports the 2,500 rhombic fiberglass-reinforced concrete panels that make up its skin. The “vault” is a concrete structure that serves as the center of the building and is used for offices, storage, labs, and curatorial spaces.
A debut show at The Broad in 2015 included works by Jasper Johns, Cy Twombly, Barbara Kruger, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Keith Haring, and other 20th-century rock icons, along with a ton of Jeff Koons. The Visitors, a stunning nine-screen video installation by Ragnar Kjartansson, and Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrored Room, which featured an unending field of LEDs, were two standout installations.
Google Rating: 4.7/5.0
Location: 221 S Grand AveLos Angeles90012
Contact: www.thebroad.org
Phone: 213-232-6200
Price: Free, with timed reservations; $17 parking available
Opening hours: Wed–Fri 11am–5pm; Sat, Sun 10am–5pm
Hammer Museum
The Hammer Museum, a cultural institution connected to the University of California, Los Angeles, is well-known for its progressive and artist-focused selection of exhibitions and public events. The Armand Hammer Museum was established in 1990 to hold the industrialist-personal entrepreneur’s art collection, but it has since broadened its focus to become “the hippest and most culturally relevant institution in town.” The museum’s critically praised shows feature presentations of both historically underappreciated and newly discovered contemporary artists, which are very significant. Additionally, the Hammer Museum presents approximately 300 events every year, including readings, concerts, lectures, symposia, and movie screenings. As of February 2014, the museum’s holdings, exhibitions, and programming are all totally free to all visitors.
The Hammer announced its first biennial in 2010 that would feature only Los Angeles-based artists. The Made in L.A. series has established itself as a significant and prominent platform to highlight the diversity and dynamism of Los Angeles as an emerging art capital, even though the museum has regularly included California artists as part of its continuous exhibition program. The first Made in L.A. exhibition, which took place in 2012, was organized by Hammer senior curator Anne Ellegood, Hammer curator Ali Subotnick, LAXART director and chief curator Lauri Firstenberg, LAXART associate director and senior curator Cesar Garcia, and LAXART curator-at-large Malik Gaines. Other venues for the exhibition included the Hammer Museum, LAXART, and the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery in Barnsdall Art Park. Between July 13 and July 15 of that year, the Hammer also supported a satellite show on the Venice Boardwalk called the Venice Beach Biennial.
Google Rating: 4.5/5.0
Location: 10899 Wilshire BlvdLos Angeles90024
Contact: hammer.ucla.edu
Phone: 310-443-7000
Price: Free
Opening hours: Tue–Fri 11am–8pm; Sat, Sun 11am–5pm
artviewer.org
Natural History Museum
The NHM’s original Beaux-Arts building, which debuted alongside Exposition Park in 1913, was the city’s first museum. Its enormous collection, which includes more than 35 million objects and specimens (not all of them are on exhibit at once), is second only to the Smithsonian in terms of size. That is one of the best museums to visit in Los Angeles. Because of its size, it is highly recommended that you plan your trip there. Those who only have a short amount of time should head straight to the truly stunning collections in the gem and mineral hall, where the displays include a 4,644-carat topaz, a 2,200-carat opal sphere, and a quartz crystal ball that is one of the largest on earth with a 10.9-inch diameter and a weight of 65 lbs.
A six-year, $135 million refurbishment program that added 108,000 square feet of interior space was completed in 2013. With a spectacular, 63-foot-long fin whale skeleton as its centerpiece, the Otis Booth Pavilion now welcomes guests into the museum from the north with a six-story light-filled glass entrance. Five exhibits, including “Becoming L.A.,” which explores the history of the Los Angeles region from the time of the Native Americans through the Catholic missions, the Industrial Revolution, and the World Wars, to the present, have debuted together with twelve new galleries. The Nature Gardens’ outdoor space includes a 3.5-acre urban wilderness with a pond, dry stream bed, lovely landscaping, and other attractions that draw wildlife from the area. The Nature Lab tells the tales of Los Angeles’ wild inhabitants through interactive multimedia and real animal habitats.
A new 14,000 square foot dinosaur hall soon joined the Age of Mammals display, which debuted in July 2010 and boasts a stunning skylight that crowns the museum’s rotunda. Other attractions include the viewable vault, unquestionably the most fascinating of the anthropological exhibitions, three vintage diorama halls, the effectively spooky and terrifyingly creepy insect zoo, and others. The First Friday program, which takes place on the first Friday night of each month and offers tours, talks, music from hipster-friendly bands, and even DJs, is one of the special events listed on the website.
Location: Exposition Park900 Exposition BlvdLos Angeles90007
Contact: nhm.org
Phone: 213-763-3466
Price: Museum: $15 adults; $12 seniors/students with ID & children 13-17; $7 children 3-12; children under 2, active military with ID, CA teachers with ID, and members free.
Opening hours: Mon, Wed–Sun 9:30am–5pm; closed Tue
nhm.ac.uk
Museum of Contemporary Art, MOCA
A contemporary art museum having two venues in the greater Los Angeles area is called the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA), which is one of the best museums to visit in Los Angeles. The main office is situated next to the Walt Disney Concert Hall on Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles. The first location of MOCA, which was initially intended to serve as an exhibition space while the main facility was being built, is now known as the Geffen Contemporary and is located in downtown Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo neighborhood. It ran a satellite location at the West Hollywood Pacific Design Center building between 2000 and 2019.
The majority of the modern art on display at the museum was produced in America and Europe after 1940. The programming at MOCA has always been characterized by its multidisciplinary approach to contemporary art. MOCA was able to turn itself into an instant player in the international art world by striking a deal with one of its board members. In 1985, the museum accepted Michael Heizer’s earthwork Double Negative in Nevada desert, donated by Virginia Dwan. In 1989, pieces by the Rita and Taft Schreiber collection were donated to the museum, encompassing 18 paintings, sculptures, and drawings by Jackson Pollock, Piet Mondrian, and Arshile Gorky, among others.
Location: 250 S Grand Ave Los Angeles 90012
Contact: www.moca.org
Phone: 213-621-1710
Opening hours: Mon, Wed, Fri 11am–6pm; Thu 11am–8pm; Sat, Sun 11am–5pm; closed Tue
archdaily.com
Griffith Observatory
Currently, the Griffith Observatory Museum is open from Friday through Sunday. The neighboring areas are accessible every day. The structure itself, both inside and out, continues to be the main draw. This landmark is a must-see on any trip to Los Angeles because of its notoriety for appearing in both beloved (Rebel Without a Cause) and hated (Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace) movies. It’s also possible to argue that it’s the one place that locals never grow tired of seeing. Any perspective makes the Art Deco building beautiful, as do the views of the city below.
The displays and performances here are long enough to last you an hour or two. The Foucault pendulum, located directly beneath Hugo Ballin’s renowned mural on the central rotunda, the handsome, cutting-edge Samuel Oschin Planetarium, and the complementary Hall of the Sky and Hall of the Eye exhibits are all located on the ground floor. These exhibits focus on how humans relate to the stars. The Cosmic Connection Corridor’s cheesy jewelry displays lead down to the downstairs, where there are a variety of other brand-new exhibits.
You can watch a brief movie at the Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon Theater on the observatory’s past and recent revival. The impact that meteorites and other falling debris have had on Earth is vividly and illuminatingly described in Pieces of the Sky. The Gunther Depths of Space has a bronze bust of Albert Einstein, clear descriptions of the planets, and a massive 2.46-gigapixel image of the night sky that was captured by the Palomar Observatory in San Diego County. Additionally, the Café at the End of the Universe serves above-average munchies. Parking at the observatory is $8 per hour, but you can also take the DASH bus from Los Feliz for just 50 cents.
Location: 2800 E Observatory Rd Los Angeles 90027
Contact: griffithobservatory.org
Phone: 213-473-0800
Price: Free admission. Planetarium $7, $3-5 discounts, free under-5s (only admitted to first show daily).
Opening hours: Tue–Fri noon–10pm; Sat, Sun 10am–10pm
griffithobservatory.org
Norton Simon Museum
The Norton Simon’s Gehry-designed renovation of the museum in the late 1990s increased its notoriety, and is one of the best museums to visit in Los Angeles. But it also enabled it to broaden the scope of its collection by providing extra room and a serene, understated setting in which to display it. Additionally, this museum has exquisite design, with a collection that is tastefully displayed and perfectly described.
The museum’s magnificent collection of Old Masters remains its most well-known feature, particularly works by 17th-century Dutch artists including Rembrandt (who painted a particularly rakish self-portrait), Brueghel, and Frans Hals. Monet, Manet, and Renoir are just a few of the French impressionists that are represented.
Other priceless possessions include a sizable number of undervalued ballerina bronzes by Degas, some excellent modern artworks, including a haunting Modigliani portrait of his wife, some paintings by Diego Rivera, a sizable number of pieces by the so-called Blue Four (Feininger, Jawlensky, Klee, and Kandinsky), and sizable collections of European prints, Far Eastern art, and Buddhist artifacts. Enter the wonderful sculpture park after viewing the passing exhibits. Overall, a fantastic museum.
Location: 411 W Colorado Blvd, Los Angeles, 91105
Contact:www.nortonsimon.org
Phone: 626-449-6840
Price: $12 adults, $9 seniors, free children under 18, students with ID, military personnel, and children under 18 all free.
Opening hours: Mon, Wed, Thu, noon–5pm; Fri, Sat, 11am–8pm; Sun 11am–5pm
giorgionetempesta.blogspot.com
Petersen Automotive Museum
This museum of car culture has an appropriate setting in a former department store because Miracle Mile was the first commercial development in Los Angeles created specifically for the benefit of drivers. Since undergoing a renovation in 2015, the automobile history museum has evolved into more of a high-tech showcase with 150 vehicles on display. Although there is a brief peek of Southern California’s emerging automotive culture, the emphasis is primarily on the automobile’s advancement, supremacy, and stunning good looks.
The museum’s tale starts at the third floor gallery with a brief overview of automotive history. There are parts there that are devoted to Hollywood vehicles and Southern Californian road culture, including the Batmobile from the Tim Burton era and Walter White’s Pontiac Aztek. You may discover the entire industrial design process by going down a level; the nearby Art Center design studio gives the motif a particularly lively vibe. The showroom on the ground floor, which is devoted to sumptuously swooping vintage cars, highlights the artistic nature of automobiles. But make no mistake: regardless of how they are presented, each floor is really about the automobile’s art.
The museum’s renovated gallery areas are infused with interactive and automotive technology; most significantly, wordy didactics have been replaced in numerous locations with tablets. On the second floor, there are Forza 6 driving simulation stations, a Cars-themed exploration center, and an augmented reality experience that sends visitors on a car-building scavenger hunt throughout the area. 96 tablets are available at the museum for the Cars experience, however we advise booking a time slot in advance.
Location: 6060 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles 90036
Contact: www.petersen.org
Phone: 323-930-2277
Price: $15; seniors $12; students (with ID) $12; children $7; children under 3 free; active military (with ID) free; parking free for the first 30 minutes with validation, $12 flat rate after
Opening hours: Daily 10am-6pm
petersen.org
Museum of Latin American Art
Though MOLAA may be situated on the same property as the Balboa Amusement Producing Company, the busiest silent film studio of its era, history is conspicuously absent from this venture, which is forward-thinking from the structure it occupies to the art it contains. Founded in 1996, MOLAA had an eye-catching expansion by architect Manuel Rosen in 2007. This addition more than quadrupled the museum’s overall exhibition area and featured a neat sculpture garden.
The Long Gallery houses the majority of the permanent collection, which includes pieces by one artist from each Latin American nation. Although it would be helpful to provide a bit more context for the captions, many of the works speak for themselves. In particular, pay attention to El Salvadorean artist César Menéndez’s slightly enigmatic Canción al Silencio (‘Song to Silence’). Additional attractions include a variety of temporary performances, a schedule of special events, and the Viva Café, which presents Latino adaptations of American classics (chicken caesar salad with black beans and a chipotle-tinged vinaigrette). a pleasant outing.
Google Rating: 4.5/5.0
Location: 628 Alamitos Avenue, Long Beach, 90802.
Contact: www.molaa.org
Phone: 562-437-1689
Price: $10 general admission, $7 for seniors and students, children under 12 free.
Opening hours: Wed, Thu, Sat, Sun 11am-5pm; Fri 11am-9pm 
molaa.org
Tag: Los Angeles Top List USA
