If you’ve ever cruised down Wilshire and wondered what that red box wrapped in silver ribbons is doing in the middle of Miracle Mile, you’re already halfway to understanding the Petersen. The building itself is a declaration, a 2015 makeover by Kohn Pedersen Fox that turned an old department store into a sculptural billboard for the city’s favorite pastime. Inside, the museum tells a Los Angeles story with sheet metal and road dust, from movie cars to lowriders to the humble machines that got this town to work and home again.
The Petersen sits on Museum Row at 6060 Wilshire Blvd, right at Fairfax, across from the Academy’s film temple and a short walk from LACMA’s Urban Light. Doors open daily, 10 am to 6 pm, and the front desk stops checking folks in at 5:30 pm. If you’re aiming for the fabled basement collection, the last chance to head downstairs is 5:00 pm.
Before you even buy a ticket, the exterior gives you the thesis. Those stainless-steel ribbons trace speed lines around a bright red box, a wink to car styling and to the city’s habit of reinventing itself. The site began life in 1962 as a Welton Becket–designed department store, well suited to a museum because its windowless walls keep sun off the chrome. The redo reopened on December 7, 2015, and ever since, it has been Los Angeles’ most photographed corner of Wilshire and Fairfax.
This is a true Museum Row anchor. You can pair it with a visit to the Academy Museum across the street at 6067 Wilshire Blvd, or step under the antique streetlamps of LACMA’s Urban Light when it clicks on at dusk and glows until dawn. I’ve led groups here since before the ribbons, and I still tell people the same thing: budget more time than you think. Most visitors spend 2–3 hours in the galleries, and adding the Vault easily pushes you to a half day.
Practicalities are handled right on site. The Petersen’s garage opens 9:00 am to 11:00 pm and the entrance is on Fairfax Avenue. Your first 15 minutes are free, the first 2 hours cost $18, and it’s $3 for each hour after that. With museum admission, the daily max is $24. CF200 members park free, and if you spend $75 in the lobby store, that receipt gets you free parking too. Prefer trains to tailpipes? The Metro D (Purple) Line’s Wilshire/Fairfax station serves the block, and a base fare in Los Angeles remains $1.75.
Think of Petersen admission as two layers. General Admission gets you into the main exhibitions across the upper floors. It does not include the underground collection. If you want the complete experience, buy the combined Museum + Vault Access ticket, which covers everything that’s open that day, including the basement. You can purchase the Vault add-on at the admissions desk if you change your mind mid-visit.
Current published prices put General Admission Adult at $23 and General Admission Senior (62+) at $20, with General Admission starting at $12 for younger visitors. The bundle with the basement starts at $25 for a child and runs to $52 for an adult Museum + Vault ticket, with a $45 senior option and $42 for youth 12–17. If you’re traveling with little ones, note that kids under 4 are not allowed in the Vault, and strollers are not permitted down there either. Youth under 18 must be with an adult in the Vault at all times.
The Vault is no token add-on. It holds 300+ additional vehicles and has the feel of a working collection: race cars, prototypes, celebrity machines, and oddballs that never saw a dealership floor. Last entry to the Vault is 5:00 pm, so plan your day accordingly. Good news for photographers: handheld, non-flash photography is allowed throughout the museum and in the Vault, though tripods, selfie sticks, and gimbals are not.
Two more policies worth knowing. You can re-enter on the same day with your ticket, which makes it easy to step out for coffee and come back for the basement. And if your plans shift, unused tickets remain valid for 12 months from purchase, so buying ahead doesn’t box you into a specific date.
| Option | What it includes | Time to budget | Price (Adult) | Age notes |
| General Admission | All standard galleries (upper floors) | 2–3 hours | $23 | Children 13 and under must be with a guardian in the museum |
| Museum + Vault Access | All galleries plus the underground Vault | 3–4+ hours | $52 (Adult), Senior $45, Youth 12–17 $42, Child 4–11 $25 | Vault is for ages 4+ only; strollers not allowed in the Vault |
Every floor has a different rhythm. The upper galleries reward a slow walk and a careful look at coachwork details you’d miss on the 405. The museum mixes permanent touchstones with rotating exhibitions, which is why locals come back once or twice a year. If you prefer motion to still life, the museum’s Forza setup lets you slide into a racing seat and test your reflexes; it closes at 5:30 pm each day. Families gravitate to the Discovery Center for hands-on activities, also closing at 5:30 pm. Neither room is a late-afternoon catch-up, so do them before the basement.
Down in the Vault, the mood shifts to the good kind of overload. Give yourself time to follow your curiosity. Fans of film and TV usually find screen-used cars that feel like meeting a celebrity; history-minded visitors come out talking about coachbuilders they hadn’t heard of; and the motorsport corner tends to keep folks in animated debate longer than they planned. The museum posts highlights from current Vault vehicles and rotates pieces frequently, so no two trips are identical.
One pro move: if you know you’ll dawdle, reverse the usual order and start with the Vault as soon as you arrive. With last entry at 5:00 pm, you remove the only hard stop on your day, then work back up to the galleries. The same ticket lets you head outside for a break and re-enter, which can be handy if your crew needs to reset before round two.
The Petersen’s garage is right there at the building, entrance on Fairfax Avenue. You’ll get the first 15 minutes free, pay $18 for the first two hours, tack on $3 per hour after that, and hit a $24 daily max with museum admission. The garage runs 9:00 am to 11:00 pm, and there’s no overnight parking. If you’re a Checkered Flag 200 member, your membership includes complimentary garage validation during museum hours. A $75 purchase in the lobby store also earns free parking for the day with your receipt.
On a weekend, it can take 10–15 minutes just to snake into the structure, so consider the train. The D (Purple) Line now stops at Wilshire/Fairfax, steps from the corner. A one-way Metro fare is $1.75, with daily fare capping that tops out after a handful of rides so you don’t pay more than the day pass. If you prefer to pedal, bring a lock and plan to park on the Fairfax side where there’s more staff traffic.
If you’re building a Museum Row day, the onsite Meyers Manx Cafe opens early, serving 8:00 am to 3:00 pm Sunday–Thursday and 8:00 am to 4:00 pm Friday–Saturday, with breakfast until 11 and lunch 11–3. That schedule makes it an ideal pre-visit or midday stop. You can also step across to the Academy later for a screening and return on the same day using your Petersen re-entry privilege.
This corner of Miracle Mile rewards small detours. The Academy Museum sits directly across at 6067 Wilshire Blvd, with galleries that spiral up to a rooftop view over the Fairfax District. It’s the film industry’s memory palace, a nice counterpoint to Petersen’s mechanical history. If your group splits along movie-car vs. movie-movie lines, this solves it without anyone needing a rideshare.
Two crosswalks away sits Chris Burden’s Urban Light, the clustered forest of restored streetlamps that has become the neighborhood’s unofficial handshake. The sculpture’s lamps turn on at dusk and off at dawn, and the pedestrian gate by Fairfax and 6th typically opens from 6 am to sunset. Even when the gate is closed, the installation is visible from the Wilshire sidewalk, which is why photographers show up right at golden hour.
If you’re looking to refuel between stops, Museum Row is tuned for quick hops. Budget parking time carefully if you plan to move your car at all. With the Petersen’s $24 daily max tied to museum admission, it often makes sense to leave your vehicle in this garage all afternoon and do the rest on foot.
Plan for at least an extra hour and a half if you add the Vault. The museum’s upper floors typically take 2–3 hours, and the last entry downstairs is 5:00 pm. If you’re on a tight schedule, start with the Vault first, then circle back to the galleries and use same-day re-entry if you need a break.
The Vault is ages 4+ only, and strollers are not allowed down there. Youth under 18 must be with an adult in the Vault at all times. In the main museum, children 13 and under need a guardian, and strollers are welcome in the galleries.
Mornings right at 10 am tend to be calmer, and you’ll have an easier time parking before midday. Remember that general admission check-in closes at 5:30 pm and the Vault’s last entry is 5:00 pm, so don’t save the basement for last if it’s a must-see.
Garage rates are $18 for the first two hours and $24 max with admission, while the Metro D Line to Wilshire/Fairfax runs $1.75 each way with fare capping. If you plan to hop between Museum Row stops, the train plus walking is the most predictable spend.
If you’re choosing between standard admission and the full-ticket bundle, ask yourself one question: do you want the curated story upstairs or the treasure hunt downstairs too. If the answer is both, set your clock by that 5:00 pm Vault cutoff and give the museum the chunk of day it deserves.
Published: September 8, 2026