Architecture & Design Museum, Los Angeles

Architecture & Design Museum, Los Angeles

If you are an architecture buff, the Architecture and Design Museum, otherwise known as A+D Museum, is definitely your place. The only museum in Los Angeles dedicated to continuous architecture and design exhibitions, it was created to celebrate and promote awareness of architecture and design in everyday life and to fire interest of the public in what the greater Los Angeles area was like before and could become in the future. As a design think-tank and an all-inclusive information and education center for all things design, it features architecture, interior design, landscape design, fashion design, product design, graphic design, and film/theater design.

Every residential and commercial project from the past, present and the future is showcased here. Among the exhibits are short films, 3D models and interactive displays. One of the best parts is the Rethink Los Angeles section, where many architects reveal their ideas of how the city should look in the long-distant future. Another display of interest is the photos of Los Angeles from the late 19th century through the present day, allowing to see the city's evolution over the years towards the largest and most populated metropolis in California.

The museum was founded by Stephen Kanner and Bernard Zimmerman, the former of whom was inspired by a similar museum in Helsinki, Finland. The A+D Museum first opened its doors in January 2001 in the Bradbury Building, at 304 South Broadway, but then moved to a temporary location on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, after which it changed several locations in Wilshire Boulevard until finally returning to downtown L.A. to a warehouse-turned-museum in the Arts District in the summer of 2015.

A+D Museum is also home to the Stephen Kanner Education Center for Architecture and Design which partners with various organizations throughout the city to provide students with different opportunities for learning, growth and mentorship.

Want to visit this sight? Check out these Self-Guided Walking Tours in Los Angeles. Alternatively, you can download the mobile app "GPSmyCity: Walks in 1K+ Cities" from Apple App Store or Google Play Store. The app turns your mobile device to a personal tour guide and it works offline, so no data plan is needed when traveling abroad.

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Architecture & Design Museum on Map

Sight Name: Architecture & Design Museum
Sight Location: Los Angeles, USA (See walking tours in Los Angeles)
Sight Type: Museum/Gallery
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:

Walking Tours in Los Angeles, California

Create Your Own Walk in Los Angeles

Create Your Own Walk in Los Angeles

Creating your own self-guided walk in Los Angeles is easy and fun. Choose the city attractions that you want to see and a walk route map will be created just for you. You can even set your hotel as the start point of the walk.
LA Downtown Walk

LA Downtown Walk

The history of Los Angeles – "a bright and guilty place," as Orson Welles described it – began on September 4, 1781, when a group of 44 Spanish settlers established a hamlet on the territory of present-day Downtown LA which they called “The Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels” (El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles).

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Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
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Chinatown Walking Tour

Chinatown Walking Tour

Unlike other cities where Chinese immigrant neighborhoods were formed organically, the Los Angeles Chinatown is the only planned Chinatown in the US. A blend of Chinese and American architecture, it was developed in downtown LA, as a tourist attraction, in the 1930s.

Designed by Hollywood artists as a "Chinese" movie prop to create an exotic atmosphere, LA's Chinatown gives out...  view more

Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 1.7 Km or 1.1 Miles
Movie Studios Tour

Movie Studios Tour

The film studios of Los Angeles, collectively known as the “dream factory”, are indeed factories. Here, countless iconic films and television shows have been produced over the years, creating stars and attracting great movie-makers from around the globe. Let's take a brief look at some of these vital hubs in the entertainment industry.

Raleigh Studios is one of the oldest continuously...  view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.9 Km or 2.4 Miles
El Pueblo and Little Tokyo Walk

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The former is the oldest district in the city. Also known as the birthplace of Los Angeles, El Pueblo is centered around the Los Angeles Plaza. Throughout most of the 19th century, it was the city's administrative and commercial center: first under the Spanish (from 1781 to 1821),...  view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.2 Km or 1.4 Miles
Beverly Hills Walking Tour

Beverly Hills Walking Tour

Undeniably one of the most famous places in the world, Beverly Hills is widely known as the most fashionable destination in Los Angeles county to shop and have fun at. Originally a Mexican ranch where lima beans were once grown, this place has long been a home to many Hollywood stars and other celebrities, luxurious hotels, and high-end boutiques.

Beverly Hills started to gain prominence in the...  view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.7 Km or 1.7 Miles
Arts District Walking Tour

Arts District Walking Tour

The Arts District is one of the hottest neighborhoods in downtown LA, located between Little Tokyo at Alameda to the west and the railroad yards and Los Angeles River to the east. Formerly an industrial area of warehouses and factories, it has been home to art studios and galleries since the 1970s. Having undergone another downturn in the 1990s, the area was officially renamed the “Arts...  view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.8 Km or 1.7 Miles

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