VIBE

Sophisticated museum in a contemporary building, based around the private collections of industrialist Armand Hammer. Hammer’s original contribution of 18th-20th century American paintings and pieces by European masters has been recently updated with modern art holdings, one of the country’s largest video libraries (request and select in the bookstore to view a title), and a lush sculpture garden (though the museum runs it, the garden is actually located on the northern end of the UCLA campus). Special exhibitions are famed for being interactive and cutting edge.

GO HERE WITH

An art buff; a date

WHY WE LIKE IT

The Hammer’s superlative collections are small enough that you can take them in without suffering from artistic overload. Also, the creative special exhibitions here are some of the best in the city.

WHAT WE WOULD CHANGE

Though they’ve recently stepped up their children’s programming, this isn’t a great place to take kids.

GOOD TO KNOW

Parking under the museum is USD 3 for three hours with museum validation. On Thursdays, admission is free and there are also free, student-lead tours of the special exhibitions. Group tours (in Spanish and English) can be booked for any day of the week. The bookstore is a treasure in itself, offering 10,000+ volumes, including some rare titles.

CLOSEST COMPS

Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) (Los Angeles)

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