The Autry National Center is an intercultural history center focused on the American West, made up of two museums and the Institute for the Study of the American West. Located in Griffith Park in the City of Los Angeles, California, the original museum, the Autry Museum of Western Heritage, was founded by actor and singer Gene Autry, his wife Jackie, and Joanne and Monte Hale in 1988 and is now known as the Museum of the American West. Upon founding the museum, Autry stated he wished to create:

a museum which would exhibit and interpret the heritage of the west, and show how it has influenced America and the world.

In January 2004, the Museum of the American West merged with the Southwest Museum of the American Indian and the Women of the West Museum to form the Autry National Center. The Southwest Museum includes the Braun Research Library, which, together with the Autry Library at the Griffith Park site now form the Institute for the Study of the American West.

The Autry National Center is spread over two locations, about 8 miles apart:

Museum of the American West

4700 Western Heritage Way

Los Angeles, CA, 90027

(323) 667-2000

Ample free parking available. Located across from the Los Angeles Zoo. Open Tuesday - Sundays, 10:00am - 5:00pm.

Southwest Museum (galleries closed for renovation; ethnobotanical garden and gift shop open on weekends)

234 Museum Drive

Los Angeles, CA 90065

(323) 221-2164

Since parking can be difficult to find at the Southwest Museum, public transportation is also available, such as the Metro Gold Line, which stops across the street at the Southwest Museum station.

Entrance cost

The fees for entering the Museum of the American West are as follows:

• Admission is $9.00 for adults
• Admission is $5.00 for students 13 and over (college w/ID) and seniors over 60
• Admission is $3.00 for children ages 3 to 12

The Museum of The American West (Gene Autry Museum)

This Museum is the original museum dedicated by Gene Autry to those who lived and shaped the American west. The Museum presents thought-provoking exhibitions and an ongoing mix of programs that can be enjoyed. The Museum is located at the Autry National Center in Griffith Park.

Southwest Museum of the American Indian

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.

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.

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 2011, when the building will be open for a new cultural use, fulfilling founder Charles Lummis' vision and belief that all indigenous peoples be understood.

See also

• List of Registered Historic Places in Los Angeles

Institute for the Study of the American West

External links

• Autry National Center Website
• Reviving the Southwest Museum
• Autry National Center on Burbank.com

References

• "Your guide to Gene Autry, America's Favorite Singing Cowboy" pamphlet from the Autry National Center
• "Pocket guide: Explore the past, present, & future of the American West" pamphlet from the Autry National Center