On May 11, 12 and/or 13 the following museums, including Heritage Square Museum, will participate in this bi-annual member shopping days: California Science Center, Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Chinese American Museum, FIDM Museum & Galleries (Saturday only), Fowler Museum at UCLA, Hammer Museum, J. Paul Getty Museum (both locations), Japanese American National Museum, Library Store at Central Library (Friday and Saturday only), Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Museum of Latin American Art, The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA): MOCA Grand Avenue & The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, MOCA Pacific Design Center, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, Orange County Museum of Art, Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena Museum of California Art, Pasadena Museum of History, San Diego Museum of Art, Skirball Cultural Center (Saturday and Sunday only).

If you become an active member of one of these museums, you will be able to participate in this great member benefit every year.  Don’t miss out on this bi-annual shopping event for museum members.

The goal for Discover the Arts is to create greater awareness and appreciation for the arts and culture around the City of Los Angeles.  Heritage Square Museum has proudly participated in the last four Discover the Arts campaigns.  Other institutions participating include: Annenberg Space for Photography, the Aquarium of the Pacific, California African American Museum,  California Science Center,  Chinese American Museum, the Fowler Museum at UCLA, The GRAMMY Museum at LA Live, Japanese American National Museum, LACMA, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, LA Opera, Museum of Latin American Art, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, the Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits, the Pasadena Museum of California Art, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library, and the Zimmer Childrens Museum. 

 For more information about all of the participating museums and cultural institutions and the offers given during Discover the Arts, visit www.discoverlosangeles.com/thearts.

During the Thanksgiving weekend (November 25, 26, & 27), our museum members may visit these other institutions  with a valid membership card: the California Science Center, the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, the Chinese American Museum, Craft and Folk Art Museum (Saturday and Sunday only), the Fowler Museum at UCLA, Heritage Square Museum (Saturday & Sunday) only, J. Paul Getty Museum, Japanese American National Museum, Kidspace Children’s Museum, the Library Store at Central Library, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) at Grand Avenue, The Geffen Contemporary, and Pacific Design Center;  the Museum of Latin American Art, Orange County Museum of Art, Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena Museum of California Art, Pasadena Museum of History, the San Diego Museum of Art (Friday and Saturday), and the Skirball Cultural Center.

Please note: Admission to special ticketed events not included; store discounts on applicable merchandise only. Please make sure to check each participating organization’s hours over the holiday weekend. Join one of these museums now to participate in this great member benefit. 

We look forward to seeing many of you during Holiday MADness.

In order for the students to continue to work on the Ford House, the latest project, the museum and its partners need to raise $10,000.00 to match an anonymous donation of the same amount.   There have had some commitments to aid in meeting this match, and we are thankful for this generosity.  But we have more to raise.  Heritage Square is making an appeal to everyone out there to give toward this important and innovative program.

 We understand with our current economic climate that everyone is being cautious on where they spend their money.   But every dollar given to Heritage Square for Preservation through Practice goes directly back into the program.  The more funding we have the more training these veterans, and those in the future, will have.  Furthermore, these real life job experiences and skills will aid these veterans to better employment opportunities,  build their confidence, and even lead them to work on other historic properties around Los Angeles with the Veteran Preservation Corps.

If you would like to make a donation to meet this $10,000 goal, please contact the museum offices at 323-225-2700 ext 221.

Veterans working on the Ford House

Preservation through Practice, launched in 2011, has made a significant impact on the lives of military veterans as they have received hands-on training in the techniques of historic preservation and restoration.

1950s Traveling Family

This special in-depth examination of the artifacts in this spectacular exhibition will take place on Saturday, August 27, from 1 to 3:30 p.m. Learn where and how the clothing was purchased; see up close the intricacy of the beading and stitch work, and the meanings of the emblems and ribbons on the uniforms.

This opportunity is our way to thank you, our Contributing and above members. If you would like to attend the Meet the Collectors exhibition event on August 27, (or if you if you need to upgrade your membership), please RSVP by August 26 to 323-225-2700 ext 223.

As anyone who has visited Heritage Square Museum in the last 30 years may have noticed, Dr. Osborne’s Carriage Barn (built in 1899) was in need of some TLC.

Well just look at it now!

Through our new program, Preservation Through Practice, five armed forces veterans have been learning preservation skills through hands on learning experiences taught using our historic structures under the tutelage of an experienced instructor. The buildings they have been working on so far are the Valley Knudsen Garden Residence (Shaw house) and the Carriage Barn. These five men began their training working on the Valley-Knudsen Garden Residence, culminating in a fresh paint job as seen here:

The second project tackled by our program participants was Dr. Osborne’s carriage barn. It was amazing to see how much better it looked after just a simple power washing, but of course they did so much more than that. The building was fumigated, the wood was patched, a retaining wall was constructed behind the building and major repairs were made to the roof. An added surprise in the process was the discovery of an original window that had been removed and covered up at some point. The frame was restored and a new pane of glass installed. What has really brought the building back to life however is the eye-catching paint reproduced from the colors discovered during the paint analysis conducted on the building.

This program would not be possible without the help of our partners in this endeavor; Preservation Arts, New Directions and Harvesting Happiness for Heroes. We are so grateful for all of the hard work put into the building and the program by its participants and partners.

If you would like to help support Preservation Through Practice or any of our other programs, please contact our Development Manager John Kearns at (323) 225-2700 ext.221 or development@heritagesquare.org.

We hope you will visit and see how great the carriage barn looks!

We have just signed up for a wonderful program through shopformuseums.com. This website partners with museums and online retailers to help you donate to the museum of your choice! We hope that you will take a few minutes to look at the site and see all of the retailers willing to donate to Heritage Square Museum through your purchase. It’s easy!

Once you are on the shopformuseums.com homepage, you are given the step by step instructions on how it works, but please find a recap below:

1. Signing up for the site – This is optional but it will allow you to track the donations being made in your name and let the site send you email updates with new retailers and offers.
2. Pick Heritage Square Museum – This is a must for us to receive the donation. We are listed as Heritage Square Museum – Los Angeles, CA. There are quite a few other museums with “heritage” as the first word in their name so please select carefully.
3. Start shopping – You can link to the retailer list from the Heritage Square page or by selecting “Shop Now!” from the toolbar. Once you are there, you select the retailer you will be shopping at and shopformuseums.com links you to their website. From there you just shop like regular.

See …easy! One of the best things about shopformuseums is that they are partnered with retailers that I am sure many of you already shop at including; ebay, Amazon, Banana Republic, Champs Sports, JoAnn’s and so much more!

Please keep in mind however that for Heritage Square to get credit for your purchase, you must start your shopping trip at shopformuseums.com. You have to get to the site through their links and if you do not sign up for an account, you will have to select Heritage Square as your museum each time.

We hope you will choose to use this service and help support us in this very simple way! Thank you in advance and happy shopping!

On July 16th, “Beyond the Rocks” (1922), a classic silent movie starring Rudolph Valentino and Gloria Swanson, will be shown. A story of love and duty finds Theodora, a young and penniless aristocrat, marrying a much older millionaire to make sure her family lives comfortable. However, she soon finds herself falling in love with another wealthy man she encounters in the rich social circuits of the Swiss Alps, Paris and London.

July 23rd, “Badlands of Dakota” (1941), a classic Western film with an all star cast, including Robert Stack, Ann Rutherford, Lon Chaney Jr., Frances Farmer, and Richard Dix. During the blackest, boldest days of the West we find Deadwood City, “a roaring capital of an empire of lawlessness.” Robert Stack was the great-grandson of William Hayes Perry, whose 1876 Italianate residence, the Perry Mansion, now stands at Heritage Square Museum.

Finally on July 20, Film Noir classic “Kiss Me Deadly” (1955) starring Ralph meeker, Paul Stewart, and Cloris Leachman will be featured. Filmed in historic Downtown LA location such as Bunker Hill, we find private investigator Mike Hammer caught in a whirlpool of mystery revolving around a doomed female hitchhiker he tries to help.

Special, never before seen silent shorts, courtesy of Flicker Alley, will be show before each film. Sponsored by Videotheque, admission to the Silent and Classic Movie Nights is free for Museum Members and $10 for general admission. Gates open at 7:30 p.m. for picnics with features beginning shortly after 8:00 p.m. These screenings take place on the lawn near the Palms Depot. Guests are encouraged to bring picnic dinners, blankets or chairs to sit on, and warm clothing in case it gets cold. Beverages and light snacks available with suggested donation.

The museum will be open July 1, 2 and 3, with tours at 12, 1, 2, and 3 p.m.