Petersen Automotive Museum

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Petersen Automotive Museum

Overview: The Petersen Automotive Museum is a such a cool museum. If you like cars, or want to take the kids somewhere they won’t be bored, take them to the this museum. You don’t have to be crazy over cars to enjoy this automotive piece of American history. The Petersen Automotive Museum is located on the southeast corner of Wilshire Blvd and Fairfax directly across the street from the LACMA in the Miracle Mile area.

The Petersen Automotive Museum showcases distinct automobiles that reflect the development of automobile throughout its history and the changing times and trends of Southern California on three floors. Two floors of the four floors of the Petersen Automotive Museum assemble a wonderful variety of vehicles ranging from classic cars to roadsters to Hot Wheels and even a sweet little motorcycle collection. The ground floor takes you through the history of the automobile, using the Southern California car culture as a prime example. It starts off with an early buggy sitting in an old garage. Then, you move onto a buggy-like, red classic 1903 Cadillac. There are pictures along the walls explaining the history of cars as well as settings depicting early Southern California communities. The first floor has much more, including a small design center. The museum includes newer cars such as a 2005 Mercedes SL and the 2002 Jaguar used in the James Bond movie, Die Another Day.

The second floor of the Petersen Automotive Museum maybe even more interesting. It does display some celebrity cars – cars once owned by Hollywood stars. Not for this reason is the second floor interesting but the cars that celebrities did own are classic, vintage cars that are plain cool and show the evolution of the automobile. Notable sections of vehicles on the second floor are the early campers, including the Ford Kampar and RVs. The sleek, black 1932 Ford “Deuce” roadster, on display, garnered the Most Beautiful Roadster award in 2002. There are other roadsters that compare in style and beauty.

Other titillating vehicles on floor two can be seen in The Treasures Vault section. The classic, gigantic, black Rolls Royce is a thing of beauty in this section. Something that should pique your interest is the highly detailed 2006 “Skeleton” motorcycle. Yes, the head of the motorcycle has a skull from which the skeleton’s spine arches back to the seat. Its legs bend as if it’s riding the motorcycle and its feet are positioned as the foot mount.

The third floor has an interactive section, teaching the fundamentals of the automobile. The May Family Discovery Center isn’t just for kids but for anyone.

Just a warning: you can not touch the vehicles on display. They have motion sensors and alarms WILL go off.

Location: 6060 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036
Site: www.petersen.org
Ph: (323) 964-6326

Hours: Tue – Sun, 10am – 6pm. Mondays closed.

Cost: $10.00/adult, $5.00/students, seniors (62+), active military, $3.00/kids (5 – 12)

Accessibility: The Petersen Autotive Museum is wheelchair accessible. Entrance for everyone is off the Fairfax side from the parking garage, which costs $8.00.

Getting There: www.bigbluebus.com, www.metro.net, www.ladottransit.com