The Museums of Miracle Mile – Central Los Angeles
The Miracle Mile is the most intense museum area in Los Angeles. Along the long Wilshire Boulevard, south of Fairfax and Hollywood, several large and important museums have been built since the 1960s, cementing the entire area as a significant tourist site.
Around the asphalt and crude oil pits of La Brea, the county opened the art wing of the Natural History Museum, which houses a rare and vast art collection. Nearby the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, additional museums have opened, such as the charming Museum of Craft and Design, the dinosaur wing of the Natural History Museum, and the Petersen Automotive Museum. A bit to the north, the Farmers Market at The Grove has become one of the most attractive entertainment areas in Los Angeles.
How much time should you plan for visiting the museums of the Miracle Mile in Los Angeles?
For a tour of Los Angeles' Miracle Mile, you should set aside at least half a day, depending on which museums are on your itinerary. Lunch, of course, should be enjoyed at The Grove nearby.
What are the must-see and must-do things on the Miracle Mile in Los Angeles?
- Masterpieces at LACMA
- The rare car collection at the Petersen Museum
- The world of Hollywood movies at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
- Fossils and ancient monster models at La Brea Tar Pits Dinosaur Museum
- Innovative design at the Museum of Folk Art
- Trendy shopping and dining at The Grove
- Go back to roots at the Los Angeles Holocaust Museum
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What museums are on the Miracle Mile in Los Angeles?
- The Miracle Mile is a neighborhood or sort of sub-district in Los Angeles, in the northern part of the city, not far from West Hollywood and Beverly Hills
- The heart of the neighborhood is the stretch of Wilshire Boulevard, the vast avenue that begins at the beach of Santa Monica and ends in downtown Los Angeles
- Near the oily La Brea Tar Pits, a pit of crude oil, paleontological research was initiated by researchers from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles located on the University of Southern California campus
- In the 1960s, the city's and county's art collection was moved to a nearby area, and the magnificent Los Angeles County Museum of Art was built
- The pit itself became an important wing of the Natural History Museum, and several other major city museums were built around it. The entire area was branded as the Miracle Mile
- A bit north of Miracle Mile, you'll find the historic farmer's market now known as The Grove. Right next to it is the charming Pan Pacific Park and the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust.
Map of Miracle Mile in Los Angeles
Everything You Must See and Do in Miracle Mile
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
The largest and most significant institution among the impressive collection of museums in Miracle Mile is the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). It is the largest and most important art museum in the western part of the USA, boasting a vast collection of the greatest European artists and major modernists from the United States. The museum opened in 1965 on Wilshire Boulevard, in a building designed by Chicago architect William Pereira, who also designed the iconic Transamerica Pyramid in downtown San Francisco.
The museum's collection was based on art pieces owned by the municipality that were displayed at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. This giant museum located on the University of Southern California campus started operating in 1910. In 1913, the Natural History Museum was granted permission to explore the area of La Brea Tar Pits, and about fifty years later, it moved the art collection to the new complex built near the tar pits. At the entrance of the museum, you’ll find the famous Urban Light exhibit, with rows of street lamps of various heights.
Los Angeles Art Museum Collection
The museum's collection includes many items considered ethnic art, including those from South and Central America as well as many items from Southeast Asia. However, the museum's main importance lies, of course, in its large collection of European art.
In the museum's collection, there are several famous and important paintings:
- The most important painting in the collection is the masterpiece by Georges de La Tour “Mary Magdalene with a Smoking Flame”, one of the most spectacular paintings by the refined Baroque giant from France.
- The stunning flower painting “Bouquet of Flowers on a Window Ledge” by the Dutch/Belgian giant Ambrosius Bosschaert.
- “Portrait of Martin Luther” and the painting “The Ascension of Lazarus” by the Dutch Baroque giant Rembrandt van Rijn.
- The collection boasts a huge variety of European artists from Northern and Italian Renaissance to Neoclassicism and Romanticism including Frans Hals, Eugène Delacroix, Jean-François Millet, and many other greats.
- “Still Life with Cherries and Peaches”, a masterpiece by the great post-impressionist Paul Cézanne.
- The painting “Jean Renoir as a Hunter”, by his proud father, Pierre-Auguste Renoir.
- Amedeo Modigliani's painting “Young Lady of the People”.
- And a wide range of impressionist and post-impressionist painters like Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Paul Gauguin, and more
- The collection also includes a massive modern collection featuring paintings by Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, and the great modern and post-modern artists of America
Address: 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles
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La Brea Tar Pits and Museum
Adjacent to the Los Angeles Museum of Art, right in the heart of the city, you'll find an active paleontological site. This site features a tar pit made of asphalt (crude oil) formed by the natural breakdown of organic materials from ancient creatures from tens and hundreds of thousands of years ago. These creatures were buried and decomposed in the ground, which prevented oxidation. All over California (rich in oil), you can find these peculiar wells; it's simply amazing to see one right in the middle of the city and in such a tourist spot like the Miracle Mile.
Over the years, the asphalt pool has revealed paleontological finds like fossils of dinosaurs and other ancient creatures. In 1977, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles opened a museum wing showcasing these pool finds. The museum is part of the Miracle Mile, close to the art collection that was exhibited in the Natural History Museum and also moved to this location and is displayed at LACMA. The museum's famous exhibit is the skeleton of the Columbian mammoth, next to a full-size reconstruction of this giant mammoth.
Address: Wilshire Blvd. 5801, Los Angeles
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Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
One of the newest and most popular museums on the Miracle Mile is the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. This museum acts as the most important “academic” institution in Los Angeles entirely dedicated to the new art medium of cinema. Due to its strategic location, just south of the industry's heart in Hollywood, it's a very significant museum that's closely tied to the leading artistic medium of the city. The museum opened in 2020, but it's quickly gaining momentum and marking itself as a must-visit spot in L.A.
The museum relies heavily on Hollywood memorabilia, but contrary to popular belief, it doesn't focus on pop culture finds. Instead, it offers a serious museum exhibition that includes research and historical coverage of the evolution of the film industry in the city.
The museum's exhibits include props, costumes, set pieces, and more that have appeared in some of Hollywood's most famous films. You can see Dorothy's red shoes from The Wizard of Oz (worn by Judy Garland in the film), the shark jaw model from Steven Spielberg's “Jaws”, Emma Stone's yellow dress as worn in “La La Land”, and many other items.
Address: Wilshire Blvd. 6067, Los Angeles
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Petersen Automotive Museum
The entire Miracle Mile sparkles like Los Angeles, and who shines more than the Petersen Museum's collection of cars? The Petersen Automotive Museum is located on the southern part of Wilshire Blvd., on a large complex along Fairfax Ave. heading south.
The museum's facade is a unique architectural experience in its own right, designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox in 2015. The museum opened in 1994, housing the vast car collection of the wealthy publisher Robert E. Petersen.
The museum's collection boasts over a hundred historic vehicles from the finest car companies operating worldwide. Beyond displaying Porsche, Lamborghini models and more, the museum hosts collections and exhibitions that follow the development of car design and engine evolution. It's a great spot for a car enthusiast's outing. In 1997, rapper Notorious B.I.G. was killed at the museum's entrance.
Address: 6060 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles
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Craft Contemporary Folk Art Museum
The Museum of Folk Art, or as it was formerly known, the Craft and Folk Art Museum, opened in Miracle Mile in 1973. This museum is a natural extension of the significant museum space, bringing in the aspect of design and handicrafts as a complement to the art collection of the great masters at the neighboring Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The museum is housed in a small building with a stunningly colorful façade on the south side of Wilshire Boulevard.
The museum has a permanent collection of unique designs and a wide variety of educational programs and activities. There are also plenty of rotating design exhibitions that touch on the avant-garde of the design world.
Address: 5814 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles
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The Grove
The famous and grand mall, The Grove, is located north of the Miracle Mile museums. Separating the museums from The Grove is the trendy construction project, Park La Brea. Adjacent to The Grove on the east is the charming Pan Pacific Park, a great place to relax in the sun. In the northern part of the park is the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust. The Grove is one of the most fun hangout spots in the city, built around the historic Farmers Market that has been operating since the 1930s.
Over the years, the Farmers Market also attracted restauranteurs and entrepreneurs from various fields, and the whole area began to flourish as a large complex for shopping, entertainment, and dining. Nowadays, the area features gourmet and experimental restaurants, farmer stands with fresh produce, trendy hangout spots, and cool stores.
Address: The Grove Dr. 189, Los Angeles
Los Angeles Holocaust Museum Holocaust Museum LA
The Los Angeles Holocaust Museum was the first museum in the USA to deal with this heavy subject. Opened in 1961 in the northern part of Pan Pacific Park, it was initiated by the wealthy and powerful community of the area. The museum serves as an educational site and memorial, aiming to make information about the Holocaust accessible to the public.
On display are historical items from survivors who arrived in Los Angeles after World War II, Judaica items that survived from Germany, Austria, and Poland, and many objects that were bequeathed to the museum.
Address: The Grove Dr. 100, Los Angeles
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