Author Archives: MGA

Stagecoach Inn Museum

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Stagecoach Inn Museum
Newbury Park
September 21, 2014

We went west, into Ventura County, to see the Stagecoach Inn Museum in Newbury Park. As with some of our other recent outings, we found out about it through the Passport 2 History program and booklet. There are several different buildings on the grounds; the old inn is the main building. The original building was built in 1876, the nation’s centennial, and named the Grand Union Hotel. The building lasted nearly a century. The original porches were removed when it became a military academy in the 1930’s, and it was relocated to the current site in order to widen the Ventura Freeway. Unfortunately, the original building burned to the ground in 1970. It had been extensively documented and photographed, and there was a great outpouring of community support which enabled it to be rebuilt essentially as it was before. It reopened in 1976. It has been furnished with excellent period furniture and artifacts.

Stagecoach1

The three of us all toured the ground floor of that main building together with a docent who explained a number of the items to us. He showed us historic photos and explained the history of the area and its prominent families. In the kitchen, he turned us over to two junior docents, elementary school age girls who explained to us what the various kitchen items were and how they were used, including two butter churns, an ice chest, flat irons, and a telephone which had been on a party line. Margaret remembered that the family’s summer cottage on Pleasant Pond in Maine had a party line. She told us later over coffee that her family’s ring had been two long rings and one short. She said when you used the party line you could hear the sound of neighbors hanging up.

Since Margaret could not go up to the second floor of the main building, she and Meredith stayed downstairs and took a close look at six different antique dresses from the 1880s and 1890s that are displayed on dress forms down there. They were quite nice and had some intricate embroidery and other details. Bob toured the upstairs of the main building with a college student docent. The upstairs includes both a family wing and a guest wing. There is a bed up there with a turned wood bedstead. It is the only piece in the museum that was part of the collection before the 1970 fire; it had been removed for restoration. It is called the “Lincoln Bed” because the tradition is that it had belonged to Abraham Lincoln’s son or grandson.

We then went over to the carriage house where a different docent explained the two stagecoaches on display. One is an antique stagecoach which was actually used, although where it was used and by whom is not known. Next to it is a replica stagecoach which was built for and used in filming movies. It is designed to look like the classic red Wells Fargo stagecoaches. Outside the carriage house is a pony cart made to look like a miniature stagecoach.

Stagecoach2

We also looked into the blacksmith shop and walked down to the Newbury House. The latter building is a replica of the home in which the Newbury family lived, in what is now Thousand Oaks, near the current Performing Arts Center. The docent at that building explained that the Newburys had written many letters to relatives back East describing their home, and they documented it so well that the museum staff are confident the replica is very close to the original.

Finally, we walked over to the Timber School building, also a replica. The surrounding area used to be called Timberville, before it was renamed Newbury Park. The school building is a classic one room schoolhouse furnished with old wooden desks. It has been built to match the original schoolhouse, as depicted in a late 19th century photograph that hangs in the main building of the museum.

We enjoyed our visit. There is ample free parking, and admission was modest: $5 per adult, $4 dollars for seniors. Wheelchair access is limited. As noted, we did not take Margaret up to the second floor of the main building. There is no ramp access to get inside the Newbury House, the path down to the adobe is too steep for a wheelchair, and the threshold of the school building was a bit high. We were able to see into the schoolhouse and Newbury House, however, and there was plenty to see in the main building, carriage house, and blacksmith shed.

We ate before we went to the museum. We stopped at a small local Mexican restaurant called El Sancho Loco Taqueria in Newbury Park. The prices were quite reasonable, and the ingredients were fresh and of good quality. The food was plain. Margaret enjoyed her quesadilla, and Bob and Meredith enjoyed the daily special, two beef tostadas. It is a casual place, with ordering at the counter and food brought to the table. They were quite generous with the quantity of tortilla chips served on the side! The server was pleasant and helpful.

Autry National Center

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Autry National Center
Griffith Park
September 7, 2014

We met up with two of our daughters and their significant others (husband of one, boyfriend of the other) at the Autry Museum of the American West. The museum is located in Griffith Park, across from the zoo. The Autry participates in Bank of America’s Museums on Us program, so on the first full weekend of each month admission is free to B of A debit or credit card holders.

Autry 3 generations

Together with Margaret, our group explored the two special exhibitions currently offered. The first exhibit we toured was Floral Journey: Native North American Beadwork. That exhibition runs through April 26, 2015. The exhibition features over 250 Native American beadwork pieces with floral designs. There are many stunning pieces, and tribal cultures from all over North America are represented. Most of the pieces are historical pieces from the 19th or early 20th century. Sprinkled throughout the exhibition are some modern pieces, also by Native American artists, inspired by their cultural history. The exhibition combines two of Margaret’s passions, handwork and Native American culture, and she enjoyed it very much.

We also toured the Route 66: the Road and the Romance exhibition, which will remain open through January 4, 2015. The exhibition was both large and well thought out, with a variety of artifacts on display, ranging from historic road signs to a 1960 Chevrolet Corvette to drawings from the movie Cars. The first few display cases set the background for the exhibition, explaining how difficult travel was and how few well-maintained through roads there were, prior to the time Route 66 and other US highways were built, starting in the 1920’s.

Autry MB 66

Memorabilia from the construction and dedication of the highway are on display. There are extensive items showing its role as a migration route for Dustbowl immigrants in the Depression, including a page from Steinbeck’s manuscript for The Grapes of Wrath, a first edition of the book, and a related photo essay from Life magazine. At several points in the exhibit there are some short videos which can be heard through headphones. Margaret and Meredith listened to several vignettes, including the reminisces of a Japanese American who grew up in Gallup, New Mexico and one of the co-creators of the Cars movie who took a road trip along the route to get inspiration for the movie.

The group ate in the museum café. They serve excellent food, semi-cafeteria style. One orders at the counter and gets drinks there, then sits and the food is brought out to the table by staff when it is ready. The menu is mainly sandwiches, burgers, soups, and salads. Margaret and Meredith each had portobello mushroom burgers. Bob and our middle daughter opted for half sandwich / cup of chili combos. The younger men had pulled pork sandwiches, and our youngest daughter had a fry bread chicken taco. The café serves soft drinks, beer, and wine. It usually offers vintage soft drinks in addition to modern ones, like sarsaparilla and cream soda, but they were out of those the day we visited. The staff is very knowledgeable and helpful. We have always enjoyed eating there. The prices were quite reasonable for museum fare; the bill for all seven of us came to just under $100.

There are rotating family activities. Today they were set up to have families do beadwork, playing on the theme of the Floral Journey exhibit. The permanent collection is extensive and impressive. We did not stay to look at it today, although we have seen it in the past. Bob, Meredith, and Margaret left early to meet up with Kathleen for coffee. Bob first took the young people down to show them the historic gun collection, which is quite extensive. The four of them stayed on to look at the rest of the permanent collection after we left. The museum is an interesting blend of the historic West and the Hollywood West. The permanent collection has many artifacts from the American West, including not only items from the majority culture but also items representative of minorities, women, and Native Americans. There is also an extensive area devoted to memorabilia such as props and posters from Western movies, from the silent era through spaghetti Westerns and everything in between, including of course Gene Autry films.

Wheelchair access is excellent. Parking is free.

There are a number of special events at the Autry, and it is a good idea to check their calendar to see what may be happening on a given day. On past visits we have seen a farmers market, and a Western family day celebration.

We did not take advantage of the docents this time, but in the past we have joined docent led tours through the special exhibitions and been very pleased with the quality of those presentations.

The Autry merged with, or perhaps acquired, the Southwest Museum back in 2003. The Southwest Museum has a very extensive collection of Native American artifacts, far more than it can exhibit. Having the large museum space the Autry offers in Griffith Park allows for showing more of those pieces to the public. Meredith and Margaret visited the Southwest Museum back in the 1970’s or early 80’s, before the building was damaged in the Northridge earthquake, and long before wheelchair access was a concern for us. There has been some controversy about the Autry’s control of the Southwest Museum and its collection. We do not know enough about the background of the controversy to have an opinion, but we do wonder if the critics have an appreciation of just how difficult and expensive it is, both to restore and maintain historic structures like the old Southwest adobe, and to maintain delicate collections like those originally housed in that facility.

Will Rogers State Historic Park

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Will Rogers State Historic Park
Pacific Palisades
August 31, 2014

When I die, my epitaph or whatever you call those signs on gravestones is going to read: I joked about every prominent man of my time, but I never met a man I didn’t like! I am so proud of that I can hardly wait to die so it can be carved. – Will Rogers

(Bob wisecracks: I never met a museum I didn’t like.)

Will Rogers porch
We took Margaret to visit the historic Will Rogers house which is located in the state park that bears his name, in Pacific Palisades off Sunset Boulevard. Famous humorist, columnist, cowboy, movie star and stage entertainer Will Rogers lived there from 1928 until his untimely death in 1935. In 1944, his widow Betty donated the land, house, and contents of the house to the state in his memory. The house is a simple but large ranch house. It is an interesting site to visit because it is so well, and authentically, furnished. It is a wonderful time capsule of the 1930s. The kitchen features a period Frigidaire refrigerator and a Hotpoint range – brand new electrical appliances that were top-of-the-line at the time. The home also has wonderful artifacts and memorabilia associated with Will Rogers, such as Navajo rugs, sketches and paintings of Western scenes, and portraits of Will and Betty Rogers in the dining areas.

The main living room has a stuffed calf. Throughout his life, Will continued to practice the rope tricks that had first made him famous. He was constantly roping things, both inside and outdoors, including occasionally his guests! One friend of his sent him the calf with a pointed note about using it for roping practice rather than his visitors. Rogers later joked that he was the best dead calf roper around.

The house was built in several stages, so lacks a coherent plan. The first part built was a rustic six room cabin, intended as a getaway location and home for their horses when the Rogers family still lived in their main home in Beverly Hills. The family then moved into it as their main home, adding another wing with somewhat nicer (but still casual) finish and furnishings. Will also “raised the roof” on the original section of the house, adding a second story with several guest bedrooms. Eventually the house came to have 31 rooms, including 11 bathrooms, and 7 fireplaces.

Next to the house is a visitor center, in what was previously the garage. There are displays with a timeline and photographs from Will Rogers’ life, a gift shop, and a short video playing on a loop.

Because this is a historic house, much of it is not accessible by wheelchair. The park staff was very helpful and loaded Margaret and her wheelchair onto a cart which they then drove around to the back of the house. We were able to see the older section of the house including the main room and kitchen. Meredith and Margaret then watched the video the park service has for wheelchair visitors, showing the interior of the other part of the house, while Bob continued on the docent led tour of that section.

Will Rogers ranger cart

Will Rogers is one of Margaret’s favorite people of all time. She owns and has read several times Ben Yagoda’s biography of him. Although Rogers died in a plane crash two years before Margaret was born, he remained such a giant for people of that time that she grew up hearing him frequently quoted and referred to. She has visited the Rogers home before, the first time over 30 years ago, with her mother and sister, and again a few years ago with us, when she first moved back to Los Angeles.

The state park grounds also include the stables the Rogers family built and polo grounds, both of which are still used. There are hiking trails as well.

The house is kept locked. Docent led tours are given every hour at the top of the hour. Admission is free, but parking costs $12. There is no restaurant or snack bar on the state park grounds, so we ate in the Valley before we headed to the park.

Getty Villa

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Getty Villa
Malibu
August 9, 2014

Getty Malibu 3

We went to the Getty Malibu campus this time, primarily to see a special exhibit of Byzantine art, “Heaven and Earth: Art of Byzantium from Greek Collections.” We had seen that exhibition described in the LA Times some months before and noticed that it would close on August 25 so wanted to be sure to see it before that date.

The Malibu campus is similar to the Sepulveda Pass Getty Center in offering free admission but charging for parking. Parking at the Malibu campus costs $15. There is one additional requirement here: visitors to the Malibu site have to make advance reservations and print admission tickets, even though there is no charge for those tickets. Unless the driver can show admission tickets, cars are not allowed to drive up the hill to the parking garage. Admission is time regulated, to control the number of visitors and more importantly the number of vehicles. Other procedures may apply for those arriving by public transportation, but that is not a viable option for us bringing Margaret. For parking and public transport options see the museum website: Getty parking and access.

Traffic was heavy on Pacific Coast Highway this time, and I am sure that is a chronic problem. The museum can only be accessed from PCH heading north if one is arriving by car; left turns from PCH south bound are not allowed, nor can one access the museum from other neighborhood streets.

The building and grounds are a treat in and of themselves. The Getty Villa is based on a villa at Herculaneum which was buried when the Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D. and has only partially been excavated. One can stroll the arcades to the south of the main museum building and enjoy the plantings in the garden. On prior visits we have always enjoyed the fountains and a large reflecting pool, but we found all of those features drained and dry on this visit, due to the severe drought.

There is one little known feature of the gardens. If one stands on the star in the pavement in the middle of the semi circular benches in the central garden area and speaks toward the benches, one can hear an echo back. We could not make this work for Margaret, but Bob was able to make it work as we have done in the past. We are guessing that it is a trick of height; one must stand rather than be sitting in the wheelchair. Bob then demonstrated this to a visiting Italian couple, and they were thrilled.

Getty Malibu 1

We had lunch at the museum café. The food was quite tasty. The prices were a little on the expensive side and the selections were limited. Margaret wanted a quesadilla – remembering the Sagebrush Cantina lunch from our last visit, maybe? – but she made due with a cheese and fruit plate that we both thought was quite generous. In addition to the café, there is a coffee cart available which sells some sandwiches, and there is a picnic area to the north of the museum building for those who wish to bring in food.

The Byzantine exhibit spanned over a millennium, from the time of Constantine in the Fourth Century A.D. to the fall of the empire to the Turks in 1453. It was dominated by religious art, including, among other things, some large and spectacular icons. Some everyday items were also included, such as serving bowls, combs, and oil lamps, to name a few.

After we saw the Byzantine exhibit we went to another gallery on the second floor which had a special exhibition of ancient glass, “Molten Color: Glassmaking in Antiquity.” This exhibit opened in 2010 and is ongoing. There were pieces made with a variety of techniques, including some pieces made as long ago as 2500 BC.

We also strolled through some of the museum’s permanent collection. Margaret was tired, so we did not stay long, but we did go in to see the bronze sculpture known as the Victorious Youth, which has always been a favorite of ours, and we saw the Lansdowne Heracles statue, also a favorite.

Getty Malibu 2

Wheelchair access is easy throughout the museum. Wherever there are stairs, there is always an alternative of ramp, elevator, or wheelchair lift.

Note: some of the photos used above are from last year’s visit; the photo of Bob and Margaret by the bronze statute of Tiberius was from this most recent visit.

Leonis Adobe

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Leonis Adobe
Calabasas
July 12, 2014

We spent some time visiting family back East so did not make it up to Los Angeles for a month. In July, Meredith and our youngest daughter took Margaret to the historic Leonis Adobe in Calabasas; Bob missed this particular outing. We have all been to the adobe before. Meredith’s sister Kathleen first suggested it. It is a popular destination for school groups, which we think is how Kathleen first learned of it.

The adobe is named for Miguel Leonis who owned it from sometime in the 1870’s until his death in 1889. The buildings, exhibits, and animals recreate life on a California ranch in the 1880’s.

The adobe is the main building on the site. It is well furnished with period furniture and artifacts. Other buildings on site include the Plummer House, moved there from West Hollywood and known as the oldest house in Hollywood, as well as a windmill, a couple of barns, and other outbuildings. The barns house old wagons and carriages, blacksmith tools, and miscellaneous other items.

The Leonis Adobe grounds are also home to a selection of animals typical of livestock one would have found on a ranch in California in the 1880’s. On this visit we admired the horses and cattle, patted the goats, and visited the fowl.

Leonis photo_1

It was a hot day, and Margaret was dragging a bit. Since the buildings are authentic historic buildings, they are not air conditioned, so perhaps it would have been wiser to save this visit for the winter time. But we managed by using the shade and lingering in the interiors, out of the sun.

There is a large corps of interested and enthusiastic docents. It seems as if every time we turned around there was a docent eager to point something out or explain something. They wear period costumes but, as one docent was at pains to explain, they are not “in character;” that is, they do not pretend to be period characters on the ranch, they function as present day guides and resources. In addition to running a site which is a great destination in itself, the Leonis Adobe association sponsors the Passport 2 History program, a website and booklet with information on a number of historic sites throughout Southern and Central California.

The parking lot is fairly small, but seems to be adequate for the number of visitors. When we went there was a farmer’s market across the street and market shoppers were paying to park in the lot for the adobe, but since we were visiting it we did not have to pay.

Because these are historic buildings, wheelchair access to a few rooms is limited. The museum has made a real effort to add access through ramps where possible, and the docents are helpful.

We ate lunch at the Sagebrush Cantina, right next to the adobe. It is a large restaurant which serves mainly Mexican food. Margaret had a quesadilla; Meredith ordered a (sort of) health oriented soft taco choice. All of us enjoyed our food.

Skirball Cultural Center

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Skirball Cultural Center
Sepulveda Pass
June 14, 2014

We took Margaret to the Skirball Center to see the special exhibition of art by Ezra Jack Keats. Keats is best known for his 1962 book The Snowy Day, which won the Caldecott medal. The exhibition was extensive, with art from Keats’ early career as well as pieces from a number of the children’s books he did. Keats grew up in New York City, the son of struggling Jewish immigrants. His art reflects the city he knew and loved. His children’s books were considered groundbreaking when published because they featured children of color, first a Puerto Rican boy in My Dog is Lost, and then an African-American boy in The Snowy Day. The books struck a chord then, and remain popular now, mainly because they have universal appeal and show children simply having fun.

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We have been to the Skirball Center before; we like to visit there when there is a special exhibition of particular interest to us. Our first visit predated Margaret’s move back to Southern California. We went to see a special exhibition on the Golden Age of comic books, recommended by Jerry Robinson, the creator of the Joker.

The Skirball Center is the Jewish cultural center in Los Angeles. It has an excellent permanent collection, spanning over 4,000 years of the Jewish experience from antiquity to modern America. We have seen that exhibit before but did not visit it this time.

The Skirball participates in the Bank of America Museums on Us program. On the first full weekend of each month, Bank of America debit or credit card holders can get in for free.

The museum has several kid friendly areas. We visited Noah’s Ark this time, which we had not been through before. Entry is included with museum admission but is time-limited, presumably for crowd control purposes. In the vestibule there are display cases with ancient artifacts and a general explanation of the archaeological exploration process. Meredith was intrigued by the display outlining the development of the Hebrew alphabet from earlier Egyptian and Canaanite pictographic writing. The interior of the exhibit is mainly fun, with stylized animals made from recycled material and an extensive Ark play area.

There is a separate archaeological “dig” area up on the roof. Five or six separate sandbox areas contain buried (modern) clay artifacts and simulated stone ruins which children can excavate. We had fun watching several budding young archaeologists dig things up, and we queried them about what they were finding. We then took a quick stroll around the surrounding garden area, had a close encounter with a hummingbird, and looked out over the lily pond.

We ate at Zeidler’s Cafe, the restaurant within the museum. Margaret enjoyed a bowl of mushroom soup, Meredith had a half sandwich / half soup combination, and Bob had the salmon club sandwich with fresh fruit on the side. The food and service were excellent, as has been our experience in the past. Portions are generous without being enormous.

Parking is free for visitors at the Skirball, and their garage has ample space.

Valley Relics Museum

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Valley Relics Museum
Chatsworth
May 31, 2014

We went back to the Valley Relics Museum in Chatsworth. This trip was our second visit; we first learned about the musuem through a Los Angeles Times article and visited last winter, shortly after it opened. Meredith’s sister Kathleen accompanied us this time. She follows the museum on Facebook but had not previously visited it. The museum is housed in warehouse space, with three small rooms and one large open space.

Meredith and Kathleen both attended high school in the San Fernando Valley, and we are comfortable there, but we do not tend to associate the Valley with museums or high culture. The Valley Relics Museum has a delightfully offbeat assortment of signs, photos, and assorted memorabilia associated with the Valley from the early 20th century on. Tommy Gelinas, the owner and curator, is very knowledgeable about the history of the Valley and various now-gone shops, restaurants, and other sites. When we arrived, he was in the lobby explaining several items to other visitors and answering questions.

The collection has expanded since our first visit just six months before, and the website has been revamped and expanded as well. The museum is full of the sort of things we used to see everywhere and take for granted, like signs for Green Stamps and an old Wurlitzer jukebox. One of the smaller rooms has lots of old black-and-white photos of Western movie stars associated with the Valley, and that room was of particular interest to Margaret, who is a fan of old Western movies. Bob and Meredith liked one of the new additions, a classic VW beetle that was hand painted by a local artist, with various historical themes on different parts of the car.

VRelics

The museum is on Marilla Street just beyond the end of Canoga Avenue. We had a little trouble finding it the first time because it is in industrial space and not marked prominently. There is no handicap cut out immediately in front of the museum. Tommy assisted us with getting Margaret and the wheelchair inside.

There is no café at the Museum. Prior to this visit, we stopped at the Bob’s Big Boy in Northridge.

Getty Center – Photography

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Getty Center
Los Angeles, Sepulveda Pass
May 17, 2014

On this recent visit, we went to the Getty Center primarily to see a special exhibition of photographs of Queen Victoria and her family (“A Royal Passion: Queen Victoria and Photograph”), which we learned of through a Los Angeles Times article.

We have been to the Getty a number of times before. When we first started our museum odyssey we steered clear of it, intimidated by the large scale and thinking it was not worth the trip if we were not going to spend a full day. At the time we did not realize that admission is free. The only cost to get in is $15 per car to park. If you come by public transport, then there is no cost. (On this particular visit the pay parking machines were not working, so everyone was able to leave without paying for parking.) We now visit the Getty whenever there is a special exhibition we are interested in, and we usually take some time after that to visit one or two of the permanent galleries.

We will not try to give a full description of the museum here. Suffice it to say it is a really splendid institution. In addition to its outstanding collections, the architecture, gardens, and setting are all beautiful. The one drawback is that access to the museum is from the 405 in the Sepulveda Pass, which is an area of Los Angeles Meredith likes to refer to as her personal purgatory because of the ever-present traffic congestion.

The photos of Victoria, Albert, and their children spanned the entire period of her reign. Photography was first invented just two years after Victoria became queen, so she was the first of the English Royals to be photographed. In the early years the photos were informal, private photos taken for the family’s own enjoyment. Later photos in the exhibit include the formidable official portraits more familiar to us. We were struck by the explanation next to one of the last photos that the negative was retouched to make the queen look slimmer and less wrinkled; the beginning of photo retouching! We also liked a 38 second silent video, quite good quality, of the queen in her carriage in the procession for her Diamond Jubilee in 1897.

getty-victoria3

Near the Victoria photos was a gallery with a special Ansel Adams exhibit of photos. The Yosemite photos were perhaps the most striking, but what Margaret and Meredith enjoyed most were three video excerpts of interviews with the artist. We went on from the special photography exhibitions to see a special showing of Jackson Pollock’s painting, Mural, then finished with the 19 century European paintings on the upper level of the same building. Those are part of the permanent collection, and we always enjoy looking at them. But let’s face it, who doesn’t enjoy Monet?

We ate lunch, as we usually do, at the museum café. We have not yet tried the museum restaurant; the prices are a bit more expensive than we like to pay. The café – located on the lower level of the same building as the restaurant — is a cafeteria with half a dozen different stations. It offers Mexican food, pizza, sandwiches, burgers, and a few other options. The food is good; the prices are a little high but comparable to other museum cafés. The hostess was quite helpful and made a point of telling us we should ask her if we would like help carrying the trays. Once we had our food, she came over promptly and carried one of our trays, while Bob carried the other and Meredith pushed Margaret in her wheelchair.

Petersen Automotive Museum

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Petersen Automotive Museum
Los Angeles, Wilshire Boulevard
May 3, 2014

We went to the Petersen on “Mustang Weekend,” a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Ford’s introducing the Mustang. Meredith is a big Mustang fan, and Margaret loves old cars, so this outing was a natural.

The Mustang exhibit (May 3, 2014 – October 18, 2014) featured Mustangs of all five “generations,” with a bonus viewing of the brand new 2015 model. We timed our visit to take a guided tour through the Mustang exhibit, then walked back through it on our own. The cars on display spanned all 50 years. It was amusing to find out that the Petersen had trouble finding a Mustang II to display, from the second generation, because it is not popular with collectors. The museum finally bought one through Craigslist just a few weeks before the exhibit opened. We particularly liked seeing the light blue convertible Mustang Ronald Reagan used to tour California on the campaign trail, when he ran for governor of California in 1966. Period TV ads for Mustangs were running on a loop in a back corner of the exhibit.

petersen-mustang

We went on to another special exhibit, this one of town cars (February 15, 2014- February 8, 2015). We had not known that is a technical term. According to the museum website, “from the early 1900s to the mid-1960s, the term ‘town car’ referred to a body style distinguished by an open chauffeur’s compartment and an enclosed passenger area.” There were many beautiful old cars on display, some with handcrafted, one-of-a-kind coaches.

We finished our visit with a tour through the Streetscape area, a permanent exhibition of various cars and contemporaneous artifacts in the setting of Southern California throughout the span of the 20th century.

We were unhappy with one thing, namely that there are no elevators in the parking structure next to the museum. There are handicapped spots on the ground floor of that garage, of course, but we do not have a disabled placard. We make do with regular parking on our outings even though Margaret is in a wheelchair. A parking attendant directed us to the upper floor when we drove in, and it was only after we were up there that we found there were no elevators to get down, just stairs. Since there had not been any regular parking available on the ground floor, we left the car up there and walked down the (steep) ramp to get to the museum. When Meredith spoke to the attendant who had sent us upstairs, he shrugged off her complaint. We did get an apology from the ticket seller inside, though, and the security guards inside the museum were friendly and helpful.

We had eaten lunch at Johnnie’s New York Pizzeria (several blocks east, at 5757 Wilshire) before we went to the museum. It is not the closest place to eat – for convenience there is a Johnny Rockets hamburger restaurant inside the Petersen – but Johnnie’s Pizzeria is our favorite whenever we visit any of the museums in the Wilshire / Hancock Park area. We always enjoy the food and service there. The first time we visited we did not realize it was a chain restaurant; it was only when we looked it up online afterwards that we found out that fact.

Reagan Presidential Library

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Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
Simi Valley
April 12, 2014

We took Margaret to the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley. We have always known it was there, of course, but did not think going to it until we picked up the Passport 2 History recently. We found out about the Passport through the link on the Leonis Adobe website, and purchased one of the booklets at the Chumash Indian Museum.

Driving the 118 west to Simi Valley was a welcome break from the usual Los Angeles traffic. We do not know what it is like during rush hour, but during mid-day Saturday, the traffic on the 118 was very light.

We spent the first part of our visit looking through a special exhibition of baseball memorabilia. (The exhibit is open April 4, 2014 through September 4, 2014.) Margaret impressed a docent by telling about seeing Satchel Paige strike out Ted Williams. We had heard that story before, but never tire of hearing it again. Margaret also recalled that Paige was playing for the Cleveland Browns at the time; we were looking at a display commemorating his major-league career. The strikeout occurred during the first major-league game Margaret ever saw, when she was 10, and her father took her to Fenway Park. Other highlights of the exhibition included material about Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson, and a host of very old memorabilia, such as very early baseball cards, including one of the rare Honus Wagner cards.

We went on from the baseball exhibit to the permanent collection. It is quite extensive, covering Reagan’s entire life, not just his presidency. There is a good mix of photos, videos, and tangible memorabilia throughout the exhibit. The display near the end in the post presidency gallery is poignant when it touches on Reagan’s Alzheimer’s disease, quoting Nancy Reagan referring to the experience as the “long goodbye.” Reagan’s last speech, announcing his diagnosis, is displayed there in written form and audio excerpts can be played.

We ate at the museum café, where the food was good but the menu somewhat limited: sandwiches, burgers, soups, and salad. The grounds are beautiful and well kept. We enjoyed the view from the café as we ate.

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Nearly all of the museum is wheelchair accessible, although one has to backtrack in a few spots to get to an elevator to go down or up to another level. The docents are ever present and very eager to help. The interior of Air Force One is the only area we could not access, because the interior is too narrow to permit a wheelchair.