1301 Avenida Cesar Chavez, Monterey Park, CA
The Hollywood horror legend—yes, that Vincent Price—donated his vast personal art collection to East Los Angeles College in 1957, and the museum bearing his name has quietly become one of the most important localized Los Angeles institutions. It is located in Monterey Park and features a wide range of art, including Japanese prints, impressionist paintings, artifacts from Ancient Americas, and Chicano art. Recent exhibits include the large-scale alters of 93-year old artist Ofelia Esparza, as well as photos by artist and poet Luis J. Rodriguez that depict Chicano culture in LA from 1960s to 1980s. VPAM, which is free to visit and deeply rooted within the East LA community that it serves makes you feel as though you know the city.
Los Angeles, CA
The Broad is the place for contemporary art’s greatest hits—and that’s not a dig. Edythe Broad, her late husband Eli Broad, and Diller Scofidio + Renfro house their contemporary art collection in the cruise-liner-shaped Downtown landmark. Yes, it is market-driven and heavily blue-chip. You’re in good hands when you have Ruscha, Warhol Basquiat Koons Murakami Sherman and Koons. The permanent collection can be viewed for free, and is compact enough to allow you to see it in a single day. (Special exhibitions—like an exciting new Yoko Ono show—run $15–$20.) Yayoi Kusema’s artwork is the main attraction. Infinity RoomA mirror chamber that is so disorienting, it borders on the spiritual.
900 Exposition Blvd, Exposition Park, Los Angeles, CA
The Natural History Museum goes back—way, way, way back. The museum has a large collection of fossils thanks to its agreement with La Brea Tar pits. The Dinosaur Hall delivers big time: three T. rex recreations, Triceratops skulls, and a pregnant plesiosaur—the only known fossil of its kind in the world. Do not miss the permanent exhibit. Becoming Los Angeles, a sweeping walk through the region’s timeline—from the Gabrieliño nation and Spanish missions to the sprawling metropolis it became, thanks in part to some nefariously acquired water rights that may ring a bell if you’ve ever watched Chinatown.
