Top 10 History Museums in Los Angeles, California (CA)

Just a few miles from the LA Waterfront, the beautiful Banning Mansion is a City, State and National Historic Landmark. The gracious, stately Victorian residence and surrounding grounds beckon visitors to experience life as it was in the mid-to late-nineteenth-century Los Angeles and meet one of the area's most influential and visionary residents of the time, General Phineas Banning. The Banning Residence has lovingly been maintained and restored and is today considered the finest existing example of residential Greek Revival architecture in Southern California. The Banning property also includes the Howard Rose Garden, a sanctuary of modern day roses as well as antique varietals that would have been grown in Banning's day.

The Skirball Cultural Center is a place of meeting guided by the Jewish tradition of welcoming the stranger and inspired by the American democratic ideals of freedom and equality. We welcome people of all communities and generations to participate in cultural experiences that celebrate discovery and hope, foster human connections, and call upon us to help build a more just society. Open to the public since 1996, the Skirball has established itself as one of the world's most dynamic Jewish cultural institutions and among the leading cultural venues in Los Angeles. Come visit soon! Noah's Ark at the Skirball is a permanent, interactive playspace for families, requiring a timed-entry admission ticket.

Explore art, history, and culture at the Autry Museum of the American West. Located in beautiful Griffith Park, the Autry presents a wide range of exhibitions and public programs-including lectures, film, theater, festivals, family events, and music-and performs scholarship, research, and educational outreach. The Autry's collection of more than 500,000 pieces of art and artifacts includes the Southwest Museum of the American Indian Collection, one of the largest and most significant collections of Native American materials in the United States.

The Lummis Home, a 4,000-square-foot Rustic American Craftsman stone house built in the late 19th century, is on the National Register of Historical Places and was designated as Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument # 68 on September 2, 1970, as well as, California Historical Landmark # 531 on March 7, 1955. The Lummis Home, El Alisal, is a familiar landmark and a point of pride in the community of Highland Park. The City of Los Angeles, Department of Recreation & Parks is currently operating this site, and opens the doors to the public on Saturdays and Sundays from 10am to 3pm for free tours. No reservations are required.

The Museum is located downtown in the Wells Fargo Center on Bunker Hill. Exhibits depict the history and development of Wells Fargo Bank and the West since the company's founding in 1852. Highlights include an authentic 19th-century Concord stagecoach and a replica you can climb into, the Challenge nugget-largest piece of gold discovered in Southern California and historic maps of Los Angeles. Use touch screens to learn more about stagecoaches and communicate via telegraph with other Wells Fargo Museums. English and Spanish cell phone tours and a web app are available. Free guided tours are available for groups that book in advance. The museum store features a variety of Wells Fargo branded gifts, collectibles and apparel. Admission is always free.

The Museum of Tolerance is a human rights laboratory and educational center dedicated to challenging visitors to understand the Holocaust in both historic and contemporary contexts and confront all forms of prejudice and discrimination in our world today.