Southwest Museum
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| Southwest Museum | |
|---|---|
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
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| Location: | 234 Museum Dr Mt. Washington, Los Angeles, California |
| Added to NRHP: | March 11, 2004 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 92001270 |
The Southwest Museum is a museum, library, and archive located in the Mt. Washington area of Los Angeles, California. Its collections deal mainly with the American Indian. However, it also has an extensive collection of pre-Hispanic, Spanish colonial, Latino, and Western American art and artifacts.
Major collections include rooms devoted to 1) American Indians of the Great Plains, 2) American Indians of California, and 3) American Indians of the Northwest Coast.
The museum is located at:
- 234 Museum Drive
- Los Angeles, CA 90065
- (323) 221-2164
Public transportation is available, such as the Metro Gold Line, which stops across the street from the museum at the Southwest Museum station. Parking can be difficult to find.
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[edit] History
Charles Fletcher Lummis was an anthropologist, historian, journalist, and photographer who created the Southwest Society, which was the western branch of the Archaeological Institute of America. He gained the support of city leaders, and with the financial backing of attorney Joseph Scott opened the Southwest Museum in 1907. The museum moved from Downtown Los Angeles to its current location in Mt. Washington in 1914, and has been there ever since.
The 1914 building was designed by architects Sumner P. Hunt and Silas Reese Burns. Later additions to the museum include the Caroline Boeing Poole Wing of Basketry (completed 1941), by architect Gordon B. Kaufmann, and the Braun Research Library (1971), by architect Glen E. Cook.
Frederick Russell Burnham, the highly decorated military scout and father of the international scouting movement, was an early president.[1]
[edit] Current Status
Because the 93-year-old building does not meet current seismic standards, the galleries at the museum are closed to the public at this time, although the museum's store is still open on weekends. Extensive rehabilitation of the building and conservation of its rare collection of Native American artifacts is currently underway, with the goal of moving most of the collection to a new state-of-the-art home by 2009. Plans call for the infrastructure improvements to the Southwest Museum to be completed by 2010, when the building will be open for a new cultural use, fulfilling founder Charles Lummis' vision and belief that all indigenous peoples be understood.
[edit] Entrance cost
The fees for entering the Southwest Museum are as follows:
- Open to the public on Saturday and Sunday from 12pm to 5pm.
- Admission is Free.
The Southwest Museum has a deal with the Museum of the American West (formerly known as the Gene Autry Museum) in Griffith Park. One ticket can be used for the two museums, costing as follows:
- Admission is $12.00 for adults
- Admission is $8.00 for students as well as seniors over 60
- Admission is $5.00 for children ages 2 to 12
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Dan L. Thrapp (1991). Encyclopedia of frontier biography. University of Nebraska Press, 195. ISBN 0-80329-418-2.
[edit] External links
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