Aptly located inside Italian Hall – built in 1908 as a social hub for the area's Italian community – this small, interactive museum sheds light on the oft-overlooked history of Southern California's Italian diaspora. Panels, touch screens and a handful of historical artifacts explore numerous themes, including early Italian pioneers, discrimination and Italian-American success stories (look out for Frank Zappa's 1987 Grammy Award trophy). The museum also hosts rotating exhibitions of Italian-American art.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Italian Hall itself is the site of América Tropical, a celebrated mural by 20th-century Mexican artist David Alfaro Siqueiros. To view it, head to the América Tropical Interpretive Center a few doors down from the museum.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. América Tropical Interpretive Center

0.02 MILES

Everyone from Hollywood stars to LA intellectuals attended the 1932 unveiling of América Tropical, a rooftop mural by David Alfaro Siqueiros, one of…

2. Olvera Street

0.02 MILES

The block-long, pedestrianized 'birthplace of Los Angeles' (circa 1781) may now be a festive Mexican marketplace with gaudy decorations and souvenir…

4. Avila Adobe

0.04 MILES

The oldest surviving house in LA was built in 1818 by wealthy ranchero and one-time LA mayor Francisco José Avila. After subsequent lives as a boarding…

5. La Placita

0.1 MILES

Founded as La Iglesia de Nuestra Señora la Reina de Los Ángeles (Our Lady the Queen of the Angels Church) in 1781, and now affectionately known as la…

6. Plaza Firehouse

0.16 MILES

The city’s oldest fire station (1884) is now a one-room museum filled with dusty old fire-fighting equipment and photographs.

7. Pico House

0.16 MILES

South of Old Plaza are a number of historic buildings, including the 1870 home of Pio Pico, California’s last Mexican governor. It was the city’s first…

8. LA Plaza

0.16 MILES

This museum offers snapshots of the Mexican–American experience in Los Angeles, from Spanish colonization in the late 18th century and the Mexican…