Sunday, March 18, 2007

Appreciating LA through the History of Cars

Over the break I visited the Petersen Automotive Museum in the Miracle Mile area of Los Angeles. I had never been to this museum before, so I did not know what to expect.
The entrance to the museum is hidden from the traffic on Wilshire and Fairfax. All you can see is the museum building and a real racing car that is randomly suspended from the building's side along Fairfax. So imagine a car that looks like it stopped in mid-air right next to a four-story building.
Meanwhile the entrance is only visible from the indoor parking garage. Inside, the museum is organized into three floors. The first and second floors contain exhibits while the third floor has interactive areas for children.
I found several parts of the museum intriguing. The Petersen has a pretty interesting feature that I have never seen before: visitors can access a free audio tour through their cell phones. The first floor exhibits are all labeled with a number that functions like a code. Visitors call the free number, dial the code, and they hear audio that explains a specific part of the exhibit in more detail. So you do not need an actual person to guide you; you can just use your phone.
The aspect that I appreciated most was the fact that I got to see what LA life was like back in the 1920's-1940's. The Petersen Museum actually portrayed the automobile's history as it relates to LA's own. Some exhibits feautured life-size recreations of old markets (which were quite different from today's), insurance offices, and gas stations. All these recreations are of places that really existed in LA.
My suggestion for improving the museum would be to keep the children's interactive exhibits open longer. There is a lot to see, but these exhibits close about two hourse before the rest of the Petersen closes.

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