The Southwest Museum of the American Indian is a museum, library, and

archive An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...

located in the Mt. Washington neighborhood of

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, above the north-western bank of the

Arroyo Seco (Los Angeles County) The Arroyo Seco, meaning "dry stream" in Spanish, is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. , accessed March 16, 2011 seasonal river, canyon, watershed, and cultural area in Los Angeles County, Cali ...

canyon and stream. The museum is owned by the

Autry Museum of the American West The Autry Museum of the American West is a museum in Los Angeles, California, dedicated to exploring an inclusive history of the American West. Founded in 1988, the museum presents a wide range of exhibitions and public programs, including le ...

. Its collections deal mainly with Native Americans. It also has an extensive collection of pre-

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

, Spanish colonial, Latino, and Western American art and artifacts. Major collections had included

American Indians of the Great Plains Plains Indians or Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies are the Native American tribes and First Nation band governments who have historically lived on the Interior Plains (the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies) of ...

American Indians of California The indigenous peoples of California (known as Native Californians) are the indigenous inhabitants who have lived or currently live in the geographic area within the current boundaries of California before and after the arrival of Europeans. W ...

, and

American Indians of the Northwest Coast The Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast are composed of many nations and tribal affiliations, each with distinctive cultural and political identities. They share certain beliefs, traditions and practices, such as the centrality of sal ...

. Most of those materials were moved off-site, but the Southwest Museum has maintained an ongoing public exhibition on Pueblo pottery, open free of charge. The Metro L Line stops down the hill from the museum at the Southwest Museum station. About a block from the L Line stop is an entrance on Museum Drive that opens to a long tunnel formerly filled with dioramas, since removed by the Autry Museum and placed in storage. At the end of the tunnel is an elevator to the museum's lower lobby.

History

Charles Fletcher Lummis Charles Fletcher Lummis (March 1, 1859, in Lynn, Massachusetts – November 25, 1928, in Los Angeles, California) was a United States journalist, and an activist for Indian rights and historic preservation. A traveler in the American Southwest, h ...

, an anthropologist, historian, journalist, and photographer, created the Southwest Society, which was the western branch of the Archaeological Institute of America. He gained the support of city leaders, and with the financial backing of attorney Joseph Scott, opened the Southwest Museum in 1907. The museum moved from Downtown Los Angeles to Mt. Washington in 1914. The 1914 building was designed by architects Sumner P. Hunt and

Silas Reese Burns Silas Reese Burns (1855–1940) was an American architect. Biography Early life He was born on April 8, 1855, in Morgantown, West Virginia. He became a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1882. He graduated from the Massachusetts ...

. Later additions to the museum include the Caroline Boeing Poole Wing of Basketry (completed 1941), by architect Gordon B. Kaufmann, and the Braun Research Library (1971), by architect Glen E. Cook.

Frederick Russell Burnham Frederick Russell Burnham DSO (May 11, 1861 – September 1, 1947) was an American scout and world-traveling adventurer. He is known for his service to the British South Africa Company and to the British Army in colonial Africa, and for teach ...

, the highly decorated military scout and father of the international scouting movement, was an early president. In 2003 the financially teetering museum was absorbed by the Autry Museum which designated it as its Mt. Washington Campus. Following years of controversy with the Friends of the Southwest Museum and other local community organizations, the Autry began a partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the City of Los Angeles to develop a long-term plan for the site. On January 22, 2015, the Southwest Museum was designated a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In March 2019 the Autry and the National Trust published a Request for Interest for the revitalization and reuse of the historic Southwest Museum campus and Casa de Adobe.

Collection

One gallery is open to the public on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with events and exhibitions that may take place on other parts of the campus. Admission is free. Autry has moved and been conserving most of the original collection in a new state-of-the-art home in Burbank, with plans to open that in 2021.

References

External links

Autry Museum of the American West
- official website
Southwest Museum (Mt. Washington Campus)
- official website
Friends of the Southwest Museum Coalition
- supporters' website
Treasureswm.org: Treasure It Together: Southwest Museum Site − website homepage
— ''project of the National Register of Historic Places''.
Image of two Indigenous protesters talking to Dr. Carl Dentzel, director of Southwest Museum about display in Los Angeles, California, 1970.

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

Photographic Archive (Collection 1429). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library,

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...

. {{Authority control Museums in Los Angeles Native American museums in California History museums in California Arroyo Seco (Los Angeles County) Mount Washington, Los Angeles Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles Native American history of California Museums established in 1907 1907 establishments in California 1900s architecture in the United States Sumner Hunt buildings Mediterranean Revival architecture in California Native Americans in Los Angeles

History

Collection

See also

References

External links