Petersen Automotive Museum

6060 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036, USA

Address:	6060 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036, USA
Phone:	+1 323-930-2277
Site:	petersen.org
Rating:	4.6
Working:	10AM–6PM 10AM–6PM 10AM–6PM 10AM–6PM 10AM–6PM 10AM–6PM 10AM–6PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 6

C Lehman

For the uninitiated, like I was, this review only concerns the museum and not the vault. I didnt read any reviews before going and now I wish I would have, and I would have paid extra for the "vault". The actual museum doesnt have that many automobiles on display. There are three floors, not arranged by decades or makes, but by more esoteric standards of "automotive artistry, industrial engineering, and car culture ". The result is that all the cars appear to be randomly displayed with no rhyme or reason. Only when reading all the placards (which I did), are you able to understand their "order" and significance. It makes for an unsatisfying viewing experience to see a lonely Toyota 2000gt (awesome car) sitting next to a VW van and GM ev1 electric car. Sigh. There is a row of movie cars, including Herby the Love Bug, but dont go looking for Don Knotts, its the Lindsay Lohan bug. That is truly sad. The Ferrari exhibit is surprisingly small, but the cars there are rare. The newer Ferraris look grotesquely enourmous compared to the svelte and awesome previous cars. No Dino, no F-40, but at least they had a Daytona. The Dan Gurney section was the only display that was as comprehensive and logical as I was expecting of the museum. Please make the rest of the museum like this section. Chronological order, depth of scope, and accompanying items of significance. This is how to museum! If the curators could stop trying to impress them selves with how artsy and self-important they are, they could make this a really amazing museum with the space they have. Come on, would it hurt you that much to scooch the Bugatti chairs a little closer together to make room for a few more cars, at your car museum?

Chris Fortunato

If youre into cars, this is the place to go in LA, especially being near other tourist destinations. From the creator of Hot Rod magazine, however, I expected a little more - where are all the stats for the cars? The plaques basically have top speed and horsepower, but (IMO) should have more technical info (displacement, engine type, air/fuel delivery, etc). It is a private museum, so it seems like its meant to move people through quickly, and maybe thats the reasoning. The Vault tour was interesting, and although our guide was nice, she seemed more interested in hearing her own jokes than anything else. Some of the facts presented were suspect, and if one of your best cars is a Tucker Torpedo, you might want to bring up the Cyclops eye third headlight that swivels as the steering wheel turns beyond 10° in either direction. Even so, there were a few really unique cars down there, and worth the 20 spot to visit. Its clear that Petersen had more than a passing fancy with Bugattis, so much so that the entire first floor is dedicated to them. Again, while I understand the interest, it seems out of place. Still, its a cool place, especially walking in the front door and seeing the massive and yet beautiful round-door Rolls Royce Phantom. That might be worth the $15 parking alone.

Ruth Ziony

I have visited the Peterson Automotive Museum MANY times, includng when it first opened and they had LOW RIDERS with custom paint jobs, etc. It is a a first rate Museum, and I was glad I signed up for the tour of the Vault which I had read about in the LATIMES! It is NOT an inexpensive tour at @$25.00 and despite what I was told, you also must purchase a Museum entrance as well....be that as it may, MARY and PAGE were delightful tour guides-there were a lot of us, all ages, sexes, etc and they managed to speak loudly and clearly, as there were plenty of us who did not have superior hearing. (If you use an aid and dont wear it, then...). The Peterson apparently has a very good web site but I am not so well versed in all things web so I can only say that you must check it out yourself-especially to see if the Tour dates have been extended (it is due to end on Jan 7). As for "eats," i myself would not bother to spend the time or money or calories at Johnny Rockets but it is popular. Eat before you go because for reasons I do not understand, looking at cars, expensive, fancy and vintage, made me ravenous! A fun day, however and I will be attending a few of their other specials.

Rick Lupert

The Petersen Automotive Museum is a world class museum of cars. Ive been to a few car museums, including the Nethercutt collection in Sylmar (which is a lovely collection of cars in a warehouse style room) and the American on Wheels Museum in Allentown, Pennsylvania (which is more museum like in its exhibits) but walking through the three floors of the Petersen, you really get the sense youre in a museum, where art and automotive mix (and the cars are the art.) There are plenty of interactive exhibits, touch screen stations throughout, an interactive activities room for kids, and an iPad tour kids can go on with "Carpads" that they check out. You get strong sense of the history of cars from their very beginnings, through the most modern examples. Theres also a section with a dozen or so cars famous from film and TV (The Delorean from Back to the Future, Michael Keatons Batmobile...heck how about Adam Wests Bat Cycle.) Everything is well spaced out, videos complement exhibits and give the place a true museum feel. Youre not here just looking at a bunch of cars in a room...youre immersed in a world of cars, with top notch displays. Well done Petersen!

Joseph DiMatteo

After many years of planning a trip to the Petersen Museum I finally made it this week. My first clue something was amiss was the fact you could pay your $15 entrance fee for the "museum" or add another $20 to view the "vault" as well. When do you charge more for one area of museum than for the overall admission? If it had been $15 + $5 I would have paid it and not given it another thought. Since I had not been there before I chose to just pay the $15. The museum was good but much more limited than I had expected - two floors of cars and a dozen or so motorcycles. Later that day I had dinner with local friends who pointed out both of the Petersens had died and that control of the museum was in the hands of some charlatans who were selling off much of the collection. A quick Google search found some article in the LA Times and NY Times about the current questionable management of the museum. Too bad it sounds like some "carpetbaggers" have taken control of museum but hopefully some of the original family will gain control again so the museum can have proper oversight.

Valerie Edwards

I have little interest in cars, but I was absolutely spellbound during my tour of the Petersen Auto Museums VAULT tour. Who knew that deep in the Petersens basement are cars-- complete with bulletproof glass and many other more intriguing, and sometimes downright bizarre, security features-- that ferried famous heads of state including Eisenhower, Roosevelt, and Kennedy, as well as some of their international counterparts? And that housed in the Vault are many of the fantastic cars used by superheros in famous films-- including the Batmobile? Our delightful, accomplished, professional and amazingly knowledgable tour guide (a confirmed hot rod fanatic with an astounding memory for all things automotive) kept me absolutely captivated for 90 minutes as we moved from one stunning car to the next while she spun one amazing tale after another about their owners, provenence, design, and, sometimes, the scandels that surrounded them. It was a fascinating lesson in the politics, fashion, and romantic intrigue of automotive history. I highly recommend taking the Petersens Vault tour!