Los Angeles Official Visitor Guide 2008 - (Page 35) Photos (left to right): Gallery at LACMA; Petersen Automotive Museum; La Brea Tar Pits; Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County; Rose Garden at Exposition Park ©2007 Museum Associates/LACMA; LA INC., Ambient Images; Courtesy of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County; LA INC./Robert Landau prehistoric excavation site in the United States. More interested in classic cars than ice age animals? Check out the priceless collection of fine automobiles — from the classic to the cutting edge — at the Petersen Automotive Museum. Finally, don’t miss the chance to check out the nearby Korean Cultural Center and the Craft & Folk Art Museum, which houses the oft-cited “Best of LA” museum gift shop. It’s also a great place to see traveling exhibitions you won’t see in every city, many of them featuring folk art from around the globe. team and the only venue in North America to host two Summer Olympic Games. too-hip-to-be-anywhere-but-LA Hammer Museum at UCLA. As the film festival capital of the world, LA hosts close to 50 annual festivals — that’s equivalent to almost one per week — built to satisfy nearly every interest. Major festivals include the Pan African Film & Art Festival held in February; the Hollywood Black Film Festival held in June; the Los Angeles Film Festival, also held in June; Outfest, the Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, which takes place in July; Method Fest, held in the Valley each spring; the Latino International Film Festival, which is held each October; and AFI Fest, scheduled in November. These festivals bring together film fans, actors and directors, and give movie lovers an opportunity to preview hot new movies as well as independent features and classics. Film buffs will also want to check out the Gallery of Film Poster Art on the campus of California State University, Northridge. It’s the only permanent university gallery in the United States devoted to the motion picture poster. Other Areas Ready to dig a little deeper into LA’s cultural riches? Jump in the car and head to Pasadena for a visit to the Norton Simon Museum, regarded as one of the finest small art museums in the world. Afterward, it is just a short drive to the expansive Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, home to an elaborate new Chinese Garden; Gainsborough’s iconic portrait, The Blue Boy; an original Gutenberg Bible; and 120 acres of English, Japanese, Australian, Palm, Desert, Jungle, Herb and Children’s gardens, among many other treasures. Don’t miss the Autry National Center in the San Fernando Valley, where the Hollywood myth and harsh reality of the American West contrast and converge. Located in Long Beach, the Museum of Latin American Art focuses on contemporary artists who have lived and worked in Latin America since the 1940s. In Malibu, the Getty Villa is a sublime recreation of a first-century Roman country house. If you’re heading to the Westside, be sure to check out the panoramic views from the Getty Center; the beaches; the Getty Villa; the Fowler Museum; and the exposition Park Just south of Downtown, Exposition Park is a concentrated cultural district next to the historic University of Southern California (USC) campus, the oldest institution of higher learning in LA and the second oldest in California. This is where you’ll find the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, the California African American Museum and the California Science Center. When it seems impossible to take in another exhibit, a bit of relaxation in the 7.5-acre rose garden, with its 20,000 examples of arguably the world’s most perfect flower, is a great way to relish LA’s year-round mild climate. Next door is the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and Sports Arena, home to USC’s legendary Trojan football For more information about LA’s cultural treasures, visit our Web site at www.discoverLosAngeles.com 35
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