Southwest Museum

Founded in 1907 by legendary activist Charles F. Lummis, the Southwest Museum of the American Indian now lives on as the Autry's satellite Mt. Washington campus. The Spanish castle atop the hill was constructed a few years later and continues to house ceramics and other artifacts that constitute the second largest collection of Native American objects in the United States. The 1994 Northridge earthquake jeopardized the structural integrity of the building, and so in the face of potential multi-million dolar renovations, much of the collection will eventually be moved to an off-site facility in Burbank. In other words: visit this national treasure while it's still an operational museum.