Heritage Square in Highland Park has preserved magnificent L.A. Victorians
As a lover of design, architecture and art, I’m so happy to be living in a region with a wealth of great museums that stimulate my visual aesthetic and teach me so much.
But those who stick only to the well-known museums – LACMA, MOCA, etc. – are missing out on some great design, excellent exhibits and wonderful surprises. Here are five of my favorite lesser-known Southern California museums that are worth a visit.
Heritage Square
The Autry in Griffith Park
This is a collection of several Victorian houses that were moved from Bunker Hill, Boyle Heights and other parts of Los Angeles. Located in Highland Park just off the 110 freeway, Heritage Square brings alive an era in L.A. that really can’t be found anywhere else in the city. Unlike San Francisco, there are hardly any original Victorians standing in the City of Angels.
La Casa Nueva at Homestead Museum in the City of Industry is a spectacular example of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture
Although Heritage Square is a bit contrived, it’s a model of preservation of late-19th, early 20th-century homes. And there’s something about Victorians that is deliciously lush and a bit creepy. I love Victorian homes for their elaborate decorations, objects collected on worldwide travels, and heavy draperies that appeal to my sense of “more is more.” They also make perfect haunted houses. They reflect an era of an interest in the occult, séances, taxidermy and the dead – people would even prop up dead relatives and take photos of them.
Victorians are the antithesis of the Southern California home of later eras where open floor plans and indoor-outdoor flow reflected our climate. All the more reason to make a trip to Heritage Square to see these excellent examples of what have become relics in the region.
Homestead Museum
This 1968 exhibit is currently at The Bowers Museum in Orange County
The Homestead Museum in the City of Industry is actually made up of two homes – La Casa Nueva, a spectacular example of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, and the Gothic Revival Workman House. My favorite residential architectural style is Spanish Colonial Revival, and La Casa Nueva is so beautifully preserved it’s simply perfect. I’m not a huge fan of the Workman House, but – heck – you get two homes for the price of one (actually admission is free, so I’m speaking metaphorically).
The Autry
For those of you who think the history of the American West isn’t terribly interesting, think again. And you might be surprised at some of the exhibits at The Autry – for example, I saw a fascinating exhibition of mid-century modern women artists at the Griffith Park museum.
I confess I’ve always had an interest in the American West, particularly the Southwest, because of frequent family trips when I was a child to Arizona, Utah and Colorado. On those road trips I learned so much about the region’s culture, animals and preservation of the land, and I picked up on my father’s passion for the landscape. That’s why The Autry will always hold a special place in my heart because it reminds me of my dad.
Beyond all that, the museum has a wonderful outdoor patio that is the site of many special events and dances, including Sizzling Summer Nights, where you can dance to salsa and other Latin beats. What more can you ask?
The Bowers Museum
The Bowers Museum is in Santa Ana, but it’s worth the trip. The museum has a rich variety of interesting exhibits – particularly Asian, African and pre-Columbian – and it’s chock-full of items. What I particularly like about the Bowers is its small, intimate galleries.
On a personal note, I was particularly taken by the museum’s Batchelder Fireplace, not only because I love them so much but also because I had one in my previous home in Beverly Hills.
California African American Museum
The California African American Museum in Exposition Park. Photo by AfricanAway.com
The California African American Museum sponsors a number of fascinating exhibits – from black motorcycle riders to the Black Panthers – usually with an historic focus, but often with an artistic one. For example, the incredible artistic wealth of the Harlem Renaissance was among the exhibits that have been displayed there. I went to see a show on the Tuskegee Airmen, and I found it fascinating and inspiring.
As an added bonus: Because of its location in Exposition Park with its cluster of museums, you can take in more than one museum in a day.
(And for what it’s worth, you must visit the Bunny Museum in Pasadena someday!)
