There are a multitude of places to visit in the Los Angeles area which relate to classic film and/or local history. See below for a selection of exhibits, tours, and other sites. (Note: This page is being developed. More places will be added in the future.)
TEMPORARY EXHIBITS:
| “The Barn that Made Hollywood: 40 Years of the Hollywood Heritage Museum” Open weekends. Confirm dates and hours on the museum website. Jan. 10-Apr. 26, 2026 Hollywood Heritage Museum (Hollywood) exhibit page |
| “More Than Love: The Life & Art of Natalie Wood” May 14-Aug. 2, 2026 The Muckenthaler Cultural Center (Fullerton) exhibit page |
TOURS:
| LOS ANGELES CONSERVANCY (Tours & Events page) The Los Angeles Conservancy offers a number of walking tours on a regular basis such as “Broadway Historic Theatre and Commercial District,” “Historic Downtown,” and “Art Deco” tours. The organization also presents the annual “Last Remaining Seats” series of revival screenings in historic theaters in downtown LA. |
| ESOTOURIC (website) Esotouric conducts bus and walking tours of historic locations in the Los Angeles area. The knowledgeable tour guides are advocates for historic site preservation and provide detailed information regarding the locations. |
| SILENT FILM TOURS BY JOHN BENGSTON (website) John Bengston has done extensive work in identifying locations used in silent films, particularly films of Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd. Multiple self-guided tours can be found on his website as well as a wealth of other information including videos. |
VIDEO RENTAL:
| VIDIOTS (website) The Vidiots Foundation has a video rental store in Eagle Rock with over 60,000 titles including a large selection of classic films. Screenings and events are also given onsite in the Eagle Theatre and a 35-seat micro-cinema. |
| VIDEO VORTEX (website) Video Vortex has a video rental service inside the Alamo Drafthouse (which is inside The Bloc shopping mall at 7th and Flower in DTLA). There are over 45,000 titles in the catalog and you can borrow a number of movies for a specified time period for free (e.g. 3 movies for 7 days). The rules on what counts as a free rental appear to be subject to change so confirm with a store employee what the current arrangement is before renting. The space also includes a few retro arcade games and a bar with a food menu. |
HOLLYWOOD:
| HOLLYWOOD HERITAGE MUSEUM (website) This small museum located across from the Hollywood Bowl is in the Lasky-DeMille Barn which formerly served as a production facility during the Silent Era and housed the office of famed director Cecil B. DeMille. The exhibits focus primarily on early Hollywood through the Golden Era. Hollywood Heritage also hosts a number of events in the “Barn,” such as film screenings and presentations. Information on those is available on their website. In addition, the museum has a small room filled with new and used film books for sale. |
| THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL (website) The Hollywood Bowl has been a local landmark since the 1920s and has been featured in classic films such as A Star is Born (1937) and Anchors Aweigh (1945). In addition to attending a summer evening concert here, you might also want to visit during the day to see the free on-site museum or take a self-guided tour. (Note: The museum’s first floor is closed for renovation until summer 2026.) |
| TCL CHINESE THEATRE (website)(“Screen 7” is the historic theater.) Grauman’s Chinese Theatre originally opened in 1927 and now is one of the most famous theaters in the world due to its courtyard featuring handprints and footprints of stars from early cinema to the present. You can see the courtyard area for free (although keep in mind it is occasionally closed to the public for special events). For the price of a ticket, you can enjoy a movie shown on one of the largest commercial screens in the country, as well as the historic décor and a display of classic movie costumes in the lobby (including the famous “green drapes” gown from Gone with the Wind). The theater has been renovated in recent years to accommodate IMAX screenings and shows mostly new releases with an occasional repertory screening. |
| HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME (website) The famous Hollywood Walk of Fame is centered around Hollywood Blvd from N La Brea Avenue to N Gower St and on several blocks of Vine Street. This program from the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has installed stars in the sidewalk since the 1950s to honor achievement in entertainment. New stars are added frequently and the public is free to attend the ceremonies. (See the above link to the official website where upcoming ceremonies are announced and a star map can be found.) |
| EL CAPITAN THEATRE (website) Opened in 1926, the El Capitan is now run by Disney and screens the studio’s new releases as well as classic Disney animated films. Weekend screenings often are preceded by a 30 minute performance by renowned theater organist Rob Richards on the theater’s historic Wurlitzer Fox Special pipe organ. There are often prop or costume displays in the basement as well. |
| HOLLYWOOD MUSEUM (website) This museum is housed in a historic Art Deco building which was the former location of renowned makeup artist Max Factor’s studio. The museum has few rooms dedicated to exhibits on the makeup studio and three floors of movie-related exhibits. On display are extensive photo and autograph collections, costumes, and themed exhibits. The basement (“Dungeon of Doom”) is focused on the horror genre and contains the actual asylum cell block set from Silence of the Lambs. |
| HOLLYWOOD MOVIE POSTERS Operating since 1979, this small shop sells posters, lobby cards, and photographs of classic and contemporary films. It’s located at 6727 Hollywood Blvd in the Artisan’s Patio. (At the north side of the intersection of Hollywood Blvd and N McCadden Place, there is a narrow courtyard. The store is all the way at the far end of the courtyard.) At the time of this posting, the store’s hours were 1:30 pm to 5:00 pm Monday, Friday, and Saturday. You can call the shop to confirm hours if needed: (323) 463-1792. For more information, see this media spot from ABC7. |
| EGYPTIAN THEATRE (website) Opened in 1922, this historic movie palace has been the site of numerous premieres and special events from the Silent Era forward. Netflix recently purchased, retrofitted, and renovated the theater and now handles programming of Netflix properties as well as repertory cinema on Mondays through Thursdays. Programming on Fridays through Sundays is handled by local non-profit American Cinematheque. |
| THE MUSSO & FRANK GRILL (website) This is the oldest restaurant in Hollywood (opened in 1919) and has been frequented by stars such as Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Elizabeth Taylor, and Marilyn Monroe, and authors such as William Faulkner, John Steinbeck, T.S. Elliot, and Raymond Chandler. It is currently only open evenings, closed Monday, and a reservation is recommended as the restaurant tends to fill up as soon as it opens. (Note the restaurant restricts photography to your own dining area and does not permit admittance except to patrons.) |
| LARRY EDMUNDS BOOKSHOP (website) This movie bookshop is located on Hollywood Blvd at North Cherokee Ave (on the south side of the intersection just to the east of Musso & Frank Grill). Established in 1938, the shop has an extensive selection of new and used books, photographs, and posters. |
| HOLLYWOOD PANTAGES THEATRE (website) The Pantages opened in 1930 as a movie palace and has been the site of numerous film screenings, special events, Academy Awards® ceremonies, and live theatrical productions. In recent years, this Art Deco theater has primarily been the home of “Broadway in Hollywood” featuring touring productions of such hits as Hamilton, Cats, Wicked, and The Lion King. |
| HOLLYWOOD FOREVER CEMETERY (website) Located in Hollywood next to Paramount Studios, this cemetery contains the graves of many prominent people who worked in the film industry including Cecil B. DeMille, Douglas Fairbanks, Rudolph Valentino, Marion Davies, Victor Fleming, Judy Garland, and Mel Blanc. The cemetery hosts cultural events throughout the year including concerts, outdoor film screenings, and a largely-attended Día de los Muertos celebration. Local historian Karie Bible conducts regular walking tours of the grounds. Please see her website for details and tour times. |
| VISTA THEATER (website) Opened in 1923 and recently purchased and renovated by Quentin Tarantino, the Vista screens both new releases and reperatory movies almost exclusively on 35mm and 70mm. There is also a 20-seat microcinema off the lobby (the Video Archives Cinema Club) which shows movies in 16mm, DVD, and VHS format. The theater does not have its own parking lot so leave some extra time to find suitable street parking. |
ECHO PARK:
| 3-D SPACE (website) This museum is a one-room treasure hidden away in the basement of the Alvarado Arts Building. The exhibits, which change from time to time, touch on the history and technology of 3D including the Victorian Era stereoscope, the ViewMaster, comic books, and 3D movies from the Silent Era and beyond. Visitors are guided through the exhibit and provided an informative discussion by museum founder Eric Kurland. At the time of this posting, admission is free (donations accepted) and requires a 1-hour appointment time slot which can be booked through the museum’s website. |
BEVERLY HILLS/FAIRFAX:
| MARGARET HERRICK LIBRARY, Beverly Hills (oscars.org homepage) The Margaret Herrick Library is the reference library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Located in Beverly Hills, the library has extensive resources including books, journal articles, photographs, scripts, Production Code records, and other documents which can be invaluable for film researchers and historians. (Note that access to certain collections may be limited and/or require an appointment.) Information on the library, policies, and collections can be found on the Academy’s website under the menu “Museum/Collections” and then “Margaret Herrick Library.” |
WESTSIDE/SOUTHBAY:
| OLD TOWN MUSIC HALL, El Segundo (oldtownmusichall.org) This beautiful 176-seat theater was built as a silent movie house in 1921 and has been operating as Old Town Music Hall since 1968. Programming is on weekends and consists of concerts and classic films, including silent films with live accompaniment on a 1925 Mighty Wurlitzer theater organ. “Talkies” are typically preceded by an organ performance, sing-a-long, and a cartoon or an intro from a special guest. |
BURBANK:
| WARNER BROS. STUDIOS (tour website) Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank has several tours available, including the TCM Classic Films Tour which has a greater emphasis on the “studio era” of filmmaking. The TCM tour begins (and ends) at the Studio Store, then continues to a display on the history of the studio and a tour of the studio backlot, Property Dept, and Rose Garden. (Note that there is variation in the tours as they have to work around filming activity on the lot.) Lunch is available for purchase near the half-way point. After that there are self-guided walk-through exhibits of costumes and more recent productions such as Friends, DC superheroes, and Harry Potter as well as interactive photo ops. At the time of this posting, there was a $20 discount for SoCal residents, so check for that when booking if you live locally. |
SANTA CLARITA/PIRU:
| HERITAGE JUNCTION AND HART PARK The Santa Clarita Valley has been used for filming from the silent era to the present. The Santa Clarita History Center at Heritage Junction features the train depot used in Chaplin’s The Pilgrim and a number of other historic buildings. Adjacent to Heritage Junction is the William S. Hart Park and Museum. This former home and occasional filming location of silent Western star William S. Hart is now a public park featuring a museum, nature trail, picnic area, bison and an “Animal Barnyard.” (Note that at the time of this posting, tours of the mansion were not being given.) |
LONE PINE:
| LONE PINE and THE MUSEUM OF WESTERN FILM HISTORY (museum website) Lone Pine is on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada range about a 3-hour drive north from Los Angeles. The rocky terrain in the surrounding area has been used as the filming location for hundreds of films and TV shows including Gunga Din (1939), Rawhide (1951), Bad Day at Black Rock (1955), How the West Was Won (1962), Star Trek, Bonanza, and the Lone Ranger serial. The Museum of Western Film History has exhibits relating to films shot near Lone Pine, film screenings, and information on self-guided tours of the actual filming locations. There is also an annual film festival which includes tours of the area. |