A four-story ode to the auto, the Petersen Automotive Museum is a treat even for those who can’t tell a piston from a carburetor. Start by ambling along a fun streetscape that reveals LA as the birthplace of gas stations, billboards, strip malls, drive-in restaurants and drive-in movie theaters. Then head upstairs to the hot rods, movie cars, and celebrity-owned rarities, presented in rotating exhibits.
Sadly, in 1997, the great gangsta rapper Notorious B.I.G. was gunned down in his car outside the museum after leaving a Soul Train Music Awards party.
