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All 605 Los Angeles Attractions »

Petersen Automotive Museum

6060 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036
323-930-2277
As featured in 3 days in Los Angeles
Ranked #19 of 352 attractions in Los Angeles
4.5 of 5 stars 123 Reviews
Type: Specialty Museums, History Museums, Museums
Fee: Yes
Owner description: The Petersen Automotive Museum is dedicated to the exploration and presentation of the automobile and its impact on American life and culture using...... more » Owner description: The Petersen Automotive Museum is dedicated to the exploration and presentation of the automobile and its impact on American life and culture using Los Angeles as the prime example. Encompassing more than 300,000 square feet, its exhibits and lifelike dioramas feature more than 150 rare and classic cars, trucks and motorcycles. Covering four floors, the facility features permanent exhibits on the first floor that trace the history of the automobile. Visitors are invited to walk through, not by, exhibits and dioramas and experience settings of early Los Angeles where the world’s first shopping district was designed. The second floor presents five rotating galleries with state-of-the-art displays of race cars, classic cars, vintage motorcycles, concept cars, celebrity and movie cars, and auto design and technology. The May Family Discovery Center is located on the third floor. Designed to spark interest in science by way of the automobile, the 6,500 square-foot, interactive "hands-on" learning center teaches children basic scientific principles by explaining the fundamental functions of a car. A spectacular all-glass penthouse conference center, Founder’s Lounge and kitchen, comprise the fourth floor, which is available for special events and functions. The Petersen Automotive Museum Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, governed by a Board of Directors. « less
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123 reviews from our community

Visitor rating
    64
    47
    9
    2
    1
Date Rating
Whakatane
Senior Reviewer
9 reviews 9 reviews
Reviews in 6 cities Reviews in 6 cities
2 helpful votes 2 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed May 24, 2012 NEW

Not really into cars but the boys seemed to like it , small boys with wheels fetishes would die for this place More

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See 3 more reviews by Frangiipani for Los Angeles
California, Maryland
Senior Reviewer
8 reviews 8 reviews
Reviews in 2 cities Reviews in 2 cities
5 of 5 stars Reviewed May 19, 2012

being a automotive geek i learned a lot. I've seen the ancient automobiles that i only saw in books. Really very educating experience. More

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See 2 more reviews by Hannah M for Los Angeles
Irvine
Senior Contributor
28 reviews 28 reviews
Reviews in 9 cities Reviews in 9 cities
4 helpful votes 4 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed May 17, 2012

If you love cars you will love this museum. met some old friends and we talked and walked around this museum relating memories of family cars and old Hollywood movie star cars. It used to be "our" old hang out as kids, a clothing store which connected to May Co now the art museum. great times Take your husband or... More

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See 6 more reviews by ElaineIrvine for Los Angeles
Granada Hills, California
Senior Contributor
23 reviews 23 reviews
Reviews in 9 cities Reviews in 9 cities
12 helpful votes 12 helpful votes
3 of 5 stars Reviewed May 16, 2012

Petersen Museum is located near downtown Los Angeles. It houses a few cars and has a few exhibits. It's good to visit for a couple of hours in conjunction to visiting other sights in the area such as the La Brea Tar Pits. More

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See 8 more reviews by Luvsailing for Los Angeles
West Hollywood, California
2 reviews
5 of 5 stars Reviewed May 9, 2012

If you like cars- this is the place! LOTS to see- plan on being there for quite some time. More

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Palmdale, CA
Contributor
12 reviews 12 reviews
Reviews in 9 cities Reviews in 9 cities
10 helpful votes 10 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed May 2, 2012

This is a big, clean, modern museum. Lots of car buffs. The customers even drive their own beauties and park in the garage. The first floor showcases the cars in surroundings of the time. The second floor has great scooter, hot wheels, and super hero cars collections. The third floor has hands on laws of motion displays, as well as... More

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See 2 more reviews by 7seekers for Los Angeles
Mke
Contributor
15 reviews 15 reviews
Reviews in 6 cities Reviews in 6 cities
6 helpful votes 6 helpful votes
3 of 5 stars Reviewed May 1, 2012

We fit this in on a Saturday morning. We were able to go through the museum pretty quickly. Some of the cars there are spectacular. Staff were very helpful. We could have spent more time going through it but had a full itinerary that day. It's worth seeing. We would visit again next time we're in L.A. More

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See 8 more reviews by DepartingDuo for Los Angeles
Senior Contributor
35 reviews 35 reviews
Reviews in 22 cities Reviews in 22 cities
20 helpful votes 20 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed April 30, 2012

I love are, this museum has many really cool cars, and it was a blast to visit. I will visit with my adult sons and bring my grandson. This is certainly a "do not miss" museum. I am a car guy, love cars and they bring me back to the best times of my life. Not that these days are... More

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See 4 more reviews by Clinton S for Los Angeles
arizona
Senior Contributor
22 reviews 22 reviews
Reviews in 13 cities Reviews in 13 cities
7 helpful votes 7 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed April 24, 2012

My husband is a car fanatic. Me not so much. This museum had plenty of autos along with some interesting LA/CA history. We both enjoyed it. More

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Worcester
Reviewer
3 reviews 3 reviews
4 of 5 stars Reviewed April 24, 2012

My partner was really keen to go, I went along too and ended up really enjoying the exhibits. More

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See 2 more reviews by Debbie J for Los Angeles

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