Petersen Automotive Museum
March 7, 2020
Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles
We went to the Petersen auto museum to see the special exhibition Hollywood Dream Machines: Vehicles of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Dozens of vehicles from science fiction themed movies and television shows are on display. The exhibition was curated in collaboration with the San Diego-based Comic-Con Museum. It runs through May 2020.
There are science fiction vehicles displayed around the lobby and even a couple in the parking garage. The first car to meet us as we entered the main gallery on the ground floor was the familiar DeLorean from the Back to the Future movies. We particularly enjoyed the numerous Batman related vehicles, not only the Batmobiles, but also Batman motorcycles, Joker cars, and models and images of the Batmobile over the years.
Meredith and her sister were taken by the Star Wars speeder on display. We rolled our eyes at the exhibit tag, though. For all three of us the 1977 movie will always be Star Wars, and not The New Hope.
We also enjoyed seeing other non-Hollywood classic cars. The Petersen has an extensive collection, which it rotates from time to time. Although we have been there before, there were many vehicles on display that we had not seen before, including the 1886 Benz Motorwagen pictured above. The Motorwagen had 0.75 horsepower and could achieve a top speed of 10 miles per hour. Although not the very first automobile, it may be the first practical one.
On our three prior visits, we went with Meredith‘s mother Margaret. Our most recent prior visit was to see the grand reopening in 2015. Shortly before that the museum had remodeled its exterior; our blog post about that visit, including the architecture, can be seen here. The year before that we went to the Petersen to see the Mustang exhibit, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Ford’s release of the first Mustangs.
The museum’s collection is extensive, and not all cars it owns can be displayed at any one time. The Petersen, for an extra charge, offers tours of its vault. We have never seen the vault but think it might be worth doing someday.
We noticed the same deficits in accessibility that struck us when we last visited, with Margaret in her wheelchair. Although there are no steps to climb inside the museum, the internal doors are heavy and do not have push button openers, and the parking garage lacks an elevator.
Parking is expensive, a flat $17 for the day, but that reflects the Wilshire location. Other parking options in the area are in the same cost range.
We are thinking that our next Los Angeles museum venture will probably be to the Skirball in May, to see the Star Trek exhibition, which will open on April 30.