In case you need more evidence that Los Angeles is the seat of car culture in America, just take a drive down Museum Row—on Wilshire Boulevard between the La Brea Tar Pits and Fairfax. At the western end of that stretch, rising from the ground in a swirl of red paint and polished metal is the newly redesigned Petersen Automotive Museum.
After closing for a year while a $125 million remodel took place, the Petersen held its grand reopening last week. Though controversial, the facade is impossible to miss, swirling around the exterior as it evokes fire, chrome, and motion.
A Bugatti Type 57 Atalante showcases the glamour of pre-war luxury cars.
Inside, sparkling new galleries showcase the history of the automobile. Exhibits frequently rotate so visitors can return to something new each time. In one hall, the combined value of the cars exceed the GDP of some small nations.
The famed 1975 BMW 3.0 CSL art car painted by Alexander Calder.
Walking into the “Precious Metals” gallery was like waking up in Kansas after Oz. Every single car, from the Pebble Beach-winning Ferrari 375MM Scaglietti Coupe to the McLaren F1 was finished in silver. You might be tricked into believing you just walked into a monochromatic wonderland of dream machines.
The Ferrari 375MM Scaglietti Coupe headlines a room full of silver supercars.
At its heart, the Petersen is a celebration of car culture. Established by Robert E. Petersen, the founder of Hot Rod magazine, it documents the evolution of hot rods, lead sleds, customs, and lowriders that defined generations of gearheads. That’s why there’s cars like the Hirohata Merc, the first chopped shoebox Mercury, a nondescript International Harvester Scout, and even a Honda SuperCub motorcycle. And of course, there’s a showcase of Hollywood cars—at the moment displaying the Batmobile, Magnum P.I.’s Ferrari, and the Breaking Bad Pontiac Aztek, among others.
The Hirohata Merc was deemed “the most famous custom of the classic era” by Rod & Custom magazine.
Walter White’s Aztek from the hit show Breaking Bad.
A new permanent section devoted to tuners provides long-overdue recognition to the hot hatches, sport compacts, and drift machines adored by kids of the 1980s and 1990s.
A Scion FR-S and Ken Block’s Ford Fiesta headline a new permanent exhibit on tuners.
There’s more than just pretty sheetmetal, too. A partnership with the world-renowned Art Center College of Design puts glass-walled studios in the museum where car designers of the future can work and interact with the public. An interactive exhibit developed with Pixar Studios’ Cars franchise teaches children about how these rolling wonders work. There are walls lined with automotive art, a large parking lot for gatherings, and extensive archives.
It’s the combination of these elements that enshrine southern California as the epicenter of automotive fashion. If you’re in Los Angeles, it’s definitely worth a visit. Just look for the rising cocoon of chrome. You can’t miss it.
