The Petersen Automotive Museum is located on Wilshire Boulevard along Museum Row in the Miracle Mile neighborhood of Los Angeles. One of the world's largest automotive museums, the Petersen Automotive Museum is a nonprofit organization specializing in automobile history and related educational programs.
History
Founded on June 11, 1994 by magazine publisher Robert E. Petersen, and his wife Margie, the $40-million Petersen Automotive Museum is owned and operated by the Petersen Automotive Museum Foundation. Previously located within the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, the museum is permanently housed in a historic department store designed by Welton Becket. The building opened in 1962 as a short-lived U.S. branch of Seibu Department Stores, before operating as an Ohrbach's department store from 1965 to 1986. Six years after Ohrbach's closed, Robert Petersen selected the largely windowless site as an ideal space for a museum, where artifacts could be displayed without harmful exposure to the ultraviolet radiation of direct sunlight.
Collections
On October 19, 2014, the Petersen Automotive Museum closed for extensive remodeling. Plans call for the museum to reopen on December 1, 2015.
Prior to closing, the museum had about 150 vehicles on display in its main galleries. The remaining half of the collection was kept in a "vault", located on the basement level of the building. Age restrictions and an admission premium were in effect to view the vault collection. The ground floor displayed a virtual history of the automobile in Los Angeles, complete with vintage vehicles and buildings. The second floor housed both permanent and special exhibits. The third floor featured the May Family Children's Discovery Center â€" an interactive exhibit where children could learn science through the workings of a car. The fourth floor housed an all-glass penthouse conference center, Founder's Lounge, and kitchen for corporate and private use. The rooftop conference center was originally built by Seibu as a restaurant surrounded by a reflecting pool.
Some of the cars and automotive memorabilia in the Petersen collection include:
- 1940s Pep Boys store marquee which was recently restored to museum quality by Rick's Restorations in Las Vegas.
- 1963 Volkswagen Beetle used during the shooting of the Herbie: Fully Loaded feature film.
- Ferrari 308 GTS Targa used by Tom Selleck in Magnum, P.I. In order for the 6'4 Tom Selleck to fit comfortably in the Ferrari, they had to lower the driver seat.
- 1966 Ford Thunderbird used in the Thelma & Louise feature film.
- De Tomaso Pantera which belonged to Elvis Presley.
Finances
The museum received a $100-million gift from Margie Petersen and the Margie & Robert E. Petersen Foundation in April 2011, which includes cash and the property the museum was leasing, as well as many of the vehicles belonging to the Petersens.
Museum in popular culture
On March 9, 1997, after a party at the museum, The Notorious B.I.G. got into an SUV with his entourage and drove fifty yards to a red light where he was murdered by an unknown assailant.
Orbach's department store is featured in a lengthy sequence in the 1988 film Miracle Mile.
The museum is destroyed in the 1997 film, Volcano.
In a scene from Who Killed the Electric Car? a previous General Motors EV1 owner visits their car in the museum.
References
External links
Media related to Petersen Automotive Museum at Wikimedia Commons
- "1897 Anthony Electric Runabout". TROMBINOSCAR (in French). Retrieved 12 November 2012.Â
Posting Komentar