Tonight, over dinner, I was discussing the history museum here in St. Louis with my family [link]. More and more I was seeing the need for a museum of contemporary history in Los Angeles.
What I see is the need for a museum that chronicles the growth of Los Angeles and surrounds. It would cover the political history, the communities, the effects of transportation systems on the growth of the city (including rail, bus, and highway). It would also explore the effect of planned communities (such as is discussed in the book Magnetic Los Angeles). It would look at the contributions of Los Angeles in areas in addition to entertainment: the aerospace industry, the manufacturing sector, literary contributions, etc. It would look at race relations in the city. Some of these are covered piecemeal in other museums, but there is no single “Museum of Los Angeles”. I think this could be a tremendous learning experience.
So, how do we go about bringing this about? This isn’t the 1900s: we aren’t wealthy merchants with bucks to spend to better the community?
