Hollywood Heritage Museum: What to See and How to Visit

The Hollywood Heritage Museum is housed in the restored Lasky-DeMille Barn, a building dating to circa 1895. It was built as a stable on Col. Robert Northam’s Hollywood estate, at the southeast corner of Selma and Vine Streets, to store horses, hay and carriages.

The barn’s story later became closely linked to filmmaking. The museum’s archives describe The Squaw Man as the first feature-length movie filmed in Hollywood and say it was filmed at the barn. The building was designated California State Historic Landmark No. 554 on December 27, 1956, in recognition of its connection to the birth of the Hollywood motion-picture industry.

After the barn was moved from a Vine Street parking lot to its current site under a land lease with Los Angeles County, it opened as a museum in 1985. The restoration took two years and relied on volunteer labor and donated funds.

Inside, the collections bring together archival photographs from silent-film production, movie props, historic documents and movie-related memorabilia. You can also look through historic photos and postcards showing Hollywood streets, buildings and residences.

The archives extend beyond film objects. They include building-survey records collected since the 1980s, such as construction permits, repair and remodeling documents, newspaper clippings and photographs. A dedicated collection focuses on the Hollywoodland housing development and its founder, S. H. Woodruff.

These materials connect early movie production with the changing streets and buildings around it. If you’re also planning time along the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the museum offers a different lens on the area’s history.

The museum is regularly open Saturdays and Sundays from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM, as well as the first Thursday of each month from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM. General admission is $15.00 for adults; museum members and children 12 and under enter free. Member admission is not free for special events and programs.

Advance reservations are encouraged. Group tours for 10 people or more can be arranged by appointment only during the week. The museum does not state a recommended visit duration, so allow time according to the collections you want to see.

All exhibits are accessible to wheelchairs and strollers. Wheelchair-accessible restrooms are available once the museum interior is open. Food and beverages are not allowed inside. Personal photographs are permitted for private use unless otherwise noted.

Leashed service animals, as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act, are welcome when under the handler’s control. A handler may be asked to remove a dog that is out of control or not housebroken.

The museum is at 2100 N. Highland Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90068, across from the Hollywood Bowl in Lot D. From Lexen Hotel - Hollywood Walk of Fame-Universal Studios, it’s about a three-minute walk, making the museum easy to visit on foot from your base.

Free parking for museum visitors is available until 3:00 PM in Hollywood Bowl Lot D. Enter from Odin Street or Milner Road off Highland Avenue. If a Hollywood Bowl event is taking place, tell the parking attendants at the barricade that you’re visiting the museum; the Bowl manages the lot.

The closest Metro subway station is Hollywood-Highland, about a 12-minute walk north on Highland Avenue. For regular hours, admission details and access arrangements, check the official site before you go.

For hotel information and booking, see Lexen Hotel - Hollywood Walk of Fame-Universal Studios.