The bid for speed

LOS ANGELES – Here in the Southland, life is almost impossible without an automobile. Because of the ridiculous distance from one place to another, vehicles have become a staple. And because of this great partnership between cars and freeway-land, it is no wonder that the City of Angels has become the heaven of one of the world’s largest and most innovative automotive museums.

The Petersen Automotive Museum

It started with a dream that was realized through a bid for speed. On June 11, 1994, Robert Petersen and his wife, Maggie, donated $5 million to the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum. In April, 2000, the couple gave an additional $24.8 million to retire the bond debt and establish the Petersen Automotive Museum as an independent nonprofit organization. In all, the Petersens’ gifts to the museum total over $30 million, one of the largest gifts to any museum in the United States. (Yes, some people have more than enough.)

Recognized internationally for its innovative design, the four-floor structure is dedicated to the study and appreciation of automobile and its influence on our culture and lives. The huge 300,000 square feet showroom exhibits more than 150 rare and classic cars, trucks, and motorcycles.

The first floor presents a winding journey through the "Streetscape," a display of more than 30 lifelike dioramas that attempt to bring back the sights and sounds of the automobile’s contribution in shaping the cultural landscape of modern-day Los Angeles. The tour starts as early as 1901 in a downtown blacksmith shop where one of the first automobiles in Los Angeles was built. Into the rolling hills of Malibu, one will find a 1911 American Underslung stuck in a mud. There are displays of a 1932 Twin Coach Helms Bakery Truck, and car models from 1939 up to the 1960s.

If you’re like me whose idea of an automobile is anything that has wheels and can take me anywhere I want to go, then the tour of the first floor will be such an eye-opener for you. For some people, cars are objects of desire. They are taken care of, nourished with essential accessories and pampered with luxurious add-ons. But don’t lose yourself just yet; the ride has only just begun.

The second floor exhibits are divided into five main galleries that show the changes in automobile structure and design through the years. The Grand Salon and State of the Art Gallery house changing exhibits from time to time. The Bruce Meyer Gallery is home to classic hot rods such as Caroll Shelby models. The Otis Chandler Motorcycle Gallery features an exciting look as motorcycle history. Finally, the Hollywood Gallery showcases an array of cars owned by celebrities as well as the Bat-mobile from the Batman movies, Shag-mobile from Austin Powers, and other cars used in movies.

The May Family Discovery Center which opened on November 22, 1997 is located on the third floor of the Petersen Automotive Museum. It houses a collection of hands-on interactive exhibits – The Discovery Center, the Vroom Room, etc. – that kids of all ages can enjoy.

An all-glass penthouse conference center, Founder’s lounge and kitchen comprise the fourth floor which is also available for special events and functions. One of the National Basketball Association (NBA) All —Star parties was held here last February.

The museum is located at the corner of Wishire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue in downtown Los Angeles. So after hitting the brakes, people can pedal to the metal and swing by another museum.

Museum Of Neon Art

On Grand Street is a nonprofit, cultural and educational organization that exhibits, documents, and preserves contemporary fine art in electric media (neon signs). Lights are the main sights in MONA – from restaurant, motel and hotel signs from as early as the 1950s to the exteriors of the buildings at the City Walk in Universal City California – everything is showcased on the first floor of the Renaissance Tower on Grand Hope Park.

MONA also offers nighttime bus tours of neon signs, movie marquees and permanent installations of neon art around the city. The trips also serve as an aesthetic and historic tour of the history of Los Angeles in the 20th century.

And while making the MONA trip, one may also include a side trip to the MOCA.

Museum Of Contemporary Art

The three locations of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles are home to some of the country’s finest collections of American and European visual art, from the 1940s masterpieces of abstract expressionism and pop art to recent works by young and emerging artists. Works of Wallace Berman, Charles Ray, Jim Shaw, Joel Shapiro, Doug Aitken and others are categorized into different collections.

* * *

Museum-hopping will continue next week.