The Ultimate List of Southern California Museums

Southern California museums are on your bucket list. SoCal is home to some of the most extraordinary museums in the United States. You will find automotive, aerospace, California history, natural history, and unique museums in the Golden State.

• Railroad Museums
• Aircraft Museums
• Automotive Museums
• Unique Museums
• Maritime Museums

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Train & Railroad Museums

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Southern California Railway Museum Perris, California

The SoCal Railway Museum is the perfect day trip destination if you love trains. Located in Perris, California, the railroad museum was founded in 1956 at the Pinacate Station as the “Orange Empire Trolley Museum.” Many locomotives on display came from scrap yards after serving their everyday duties. They and historic trolley cars have been brought out of retirement and restored for train fans to enjoy. https://socalrailway.org/

Pacific Southwest Railway Museum Campo, California

Pacific Southwest Railway Museum is on the grounds of what used to be Camp Lockett. The camp’s gymnasium building is now the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum car shop. On the property, you will find numerous pieces of railroad equipment in various stages of repair, from passenger cars to locomotives and everything in between. Train excursions run on weekends.
South Coast Railroad Museum. https://www.psrm.org/

South Coast Railroad Museum Goleta, California

South Coast Railroad Museum is housed inside a 1901 Southern Pacific Railroad Depot. The museum’s most popular visitor attractions are miniature train and handcar rides. The Goleta Short Line miniature train ride operates year-round on weekends. https://goletadepot.org/

Seal Beach Red Car Museum

You can find the Seal Beach Red Car Museum inside Car No. 1734, a restored Pacific Electric Railway car on the corner of Main and Electric. The museum is a rare and unique glimpse into the mass transit system that once served Southern California using streetcars. The interior of this car houses historical artifacts and is open to the public every second and fourth Saturday of the month between noon and 3 pm.

Travel Town Train Museum Los Angeles

Visitors can view a collection of locomotives, cabooses, passenger cars, and motor cars from 1880 to the 1930s. Kids can climb aboard some locomotives and experience what it would be like to be an engineer on one of the massive train engines. Visitors can ride a miniature train that circles the museum.

Lomita Railway Museum

Housed in a turn-of-the-century railway depot, the little museum is the cornerstone of a community park. A small but impressive collection of rolling stock is on the property, including a Union Pacific caboose, Santa Fe caboose, boxcar, oil tank car, and the museum’s pride, a 1902 Baldwin steam locomotive. Inside the train, the depot is a collection of railway artifacts, including conductor hats, railroad lanterns, railroad spikes, clocks, whistles, and photographs.

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Aircraft Museums

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Museum Of Flying Santa Monica

Inside the 22,000-square-foot museum, two-story structure planes on display range from replicas of a Wright Flyer to a single-seat BD-5 microjet featured in the opening scenes of the James Bond movie “Octopussy.” There is also a replica Lockheed plane like the one flown by aviation legend Amelia Earhart, a Lockheed T-33, and a Boeing 727 cockpit exhibit. https://www.museumofflying.org/

Palm Springs Air Museum

Palm Springs Air Museum is home to one of the nation’s most extensive collections of World War II flying aircraft displayed in modern, climate-controlled hangars. Over 30 fighters and bombers are in the group, including a P-51 Mustang, a Lockheed Shooting Star, a Spitfire, and even the famous F-14 Tomcat, many of which are available for special events where visitors can take a seat in the cockpit for a once in a lifetime experience. https://palmspringsairmuseum.org/

Yanks Air Museum Chino, California

Yanks Air Museum is perfect for those who can’t get enough of those magnificent men and their flying machines. Over 200 historic aircraft from the early days of flight to modern-day aircraft are displayed here. The west hanger houses 37 aircraft, several vehicles, military armament, and aviation memorabilia covering the period of 1903-1931. It consists of a 1918 Curtiss JN-4d “Jenny,” North American Mitchell III B-25, and a pair of P-51 Mustangs. https://yanksair.org/

Planes of Fame Air Museum Chino, California

See the world’s first all-metal monoplane (the Boeing P-26), and the only surviving examples of the Northrop N9MB Flying wing, the Horton brothers glider, and various carrier aircraft, attack aircraft, fighters, fighter-bombers, and the legendary B-17E, “Swamp Ghost.” Also, the air museum has the best collection of Japanese military warplanes, including the only flyable Zero-sen with an original Sakae engine. https://planesoffame.org/

March Field Museum Riverside, California

March Field Air Museum is home to over 70 historic aircraft and many inside displays relating to the history of March Field, now known as March Air Reserve Base. Inside the museum hangar, you will find vintage aircraft and exhibits about military aviation history. Outside, you will find a vast collection, including the famous record-breaking Lockheed SR-71 “Blackbird” and a B-29 Super Fortress. https://www.marchfield.org/

Lyon Air Museum Santa Ana, California

Lyon Air Museum is adjacent to the runway of John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana. Exhibits include WW2 aircraft, vintage autos, military vehicles, and motorcycles. The museum also features military artifacts and photos. https://lyonairmuseum.org/

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Automotive Museums

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NHRA Motorsports Museum Pomona, California

This 28,500-square-foot museum is well curated and is pretty much the king of drag racing history with an incredible collection of cars, from nostalgic drag racers, street rods, vintage gassers, funny cars, and even a dozen or so motorcycles. https://nhramuseum.org/

Automobile Driving Museum  El Segundo, CA

The Automobile Driving Museum has a remarkable, rotating collection of nearly 150 classic, antique, and historic cars, all with retro color schemes and attractive hood ornaments. On Sundays, guests can drive in a piece of history as they are whisked around in a pristine classic car. https://automobiledrivingmuseum.org/

Nethercutt Collection Sylmar, California

The main museum is a single-level building that contains rare, primarily beautifully restored automobiles from the 20s and 30s. You will find a few Ford, Dodges, and Chevy’s, but this collection is more about luxury cars. There is also a massive collection of hood ornaments and an extensive library for automotive research. https://nethercuttcollection.org/

Petersen Automotive Museum Los Angeles CA

With three full floors and over 300,000 square feet of exhibit space, the Peterson houses one of the most extensive galleries of cars and motorcycles, intended to show the beauty of vehicles and educate its visitors. https://www.petersen.org/

Motte Historical Car Museum Sun City, California

Motte Car Museum houses an eclectic collection of cars all on display, including a 1928 Ford Model A pickup, a 1931 Cadillac Cabriolet, a 1924 Model T school, and a World War II transport vehicle — one of only four of its kind known to exist. https://www.mottemuseum.com/

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Maritime and Ship Museums

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Battleship USS Iowa San Pedro, California

The USS Iowa is a floating naval museum in San Pedro, California. Self-guided tours let visitors explore the seven decks of this massive ship. One of the many highlights of this trip is the enormous 16-inch guns on the main floor. https://pacificbattleship.com/

USS Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum San Diego, CA

USS Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum is in downtown San Diego at Navy Pier. Visitors to this historic warship can view restored aircraft above and below deck, along with exhibits and displays about the aircraft carrier. https://www.midway.org/

Maritime Museum of San Diego

The Maritime Museum of San Diego is located downtown and offers one of the country’s largest collections of historic ships. You can see ferry boats, tall ships, and the museum star, the 1863 tall ship Star of India.  https://sdmaritime.org/

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Unique Southern California Museums

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Hollywood Museum Hollywood, CA

The Hollywood Museum in the Max Factor building is a four-story structure home to the make-up artist Max Factor. Marilyn Monroe became a blonde within the private salons, and Lucille Ball got her famous red locks. https://thehollywoodmuseum.com/

Cabot’s Pueblo Museum Desert Hot Springs, CA

Cabot’s Pueblo Museum is one of Southern California’s most unique buildings. It all started with one man’s dream. He was an extraordinary individual who worked hard and traveled to many places. The museum contains a collection of Native American pottery, early 20th-century photographs, and artifacts from Cabot’s Alaskan adventures. https://cabotsmuseum.org/

Noah Purifoy Outdoor Museum Joshua Tree, CA

Artist Noah Purifoy (1917-2004) moved to the desert to escape the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles. He spent the last 15 years creating unique sculptures, buildings, and artwork out of recycled material. https://www.noahpurifoy.com/

Apple Valley Legacy Museum

The Apple Valley Legacy Museum is the newest spoke in a wheel of preserving the town’s past. The mini-museum/visitor’s center is excellent for learning about the area’s history and ideas for maintaining local icons. http://hdcfoundation.org/apple-valley-legacy-museum/

Heritage Square Museum Los Angeles, CA

Heritage Square Museum is located alongside the concrete banks of the Los Angeles River in downtown LA. The museum houses a collection of structures from the late 1800s that were saved from demolition and moved to Heritage Square. https://www.heritagesquare.org/

Adamson House Museum

Adamson House Museum ranks among some of the most magnificent homes in California—a mini Hearst Castle, Los Angeles style, on Malibu Beach. The museum is adjacent to a sandy lagoon on Surfrider Beach and Malibu Lagoon, as well as the Malibu bird sanctuary.

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Natural History Museums

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Western Science Center Hemet, California

Many of the artifacts on display were discovered when nearby Diamond Valley Lake (the largest human-made reservoir in Southern California) was under construction. The main attractions are life-size recreations of mammoths and mastodons featured in the main hall. https://www.westernsciencecenter.org/

Page Museum at La Brea Tar Pits

La Brea Tar Pits are a famous cluster of fossil sites in urban Los Angeles, around the Hancock Park area. Brea is the Spanish word for asphalt or tar, which has seeped up from the ground in the area for thousands of years. https://tarpits.org/

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Art and Architecture Museums

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Getty Center

The museum is located in Brentwood (Los Angeles), California, and features a collection of European paintings, drawings, and sculptures. Also featured are a group of 19th and 20th-century American and European photographs. https://www.getty.edu/visit/

Getty Villa Pacific Palisades, California

With a magnificent view of the Pacific Ocean, the Getty Villa hosts Jean Paul Getty’s collection of ancient Greek, Roman, and Etruscan art and artifacts, along with extensive gardens inspired by ancient Rome.

Norton Simon Museum  Pasadena, CA

The museum has assembled a historical collection of European and Asian sculptures, paintings, and woodblock prints, rivaling many high-caliber European museums. There is nary a single art genius not represented here besides da Vinci. https://www.nortonsimon.org/

Huntington Library San Marino, CA 

Extraordinary gems can be found here. Items such as the Gutenberg Bible, the Ellesmere manuscript of Canterbury Tales, a 60,000-item Jack London archive, and works with important figures such as Audubon and Shakespeare. https://huntington.org/

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Bizarre and Weird Museums in Los Angeles

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