Southwest Museum

The archive collection at the Southwest Museum located in the Mt. Washington area of Los Angeles stores important Native American documents and artifacts, as well as some pre-Hispanic, Spanish colonial, Latino, and Western American materials. The road to the museum being built began with an anthropologist, Charles Fletcher Lummis. Lummis is considered by many to be the father of historic preservation in Los Angeles.  Lummis created the Southwest Society and eventually gained the support of city leaders to construct the museum. With the financial support of attorney Joseph Scott, the Southwest Museum opened its doors in 1907 and was the first museum in Los Angeles.

Seven years later, in 1914, the museum moved to its current location in Mt. Washington. The 1914 building was designed by architects Sumner P. Hunt and Silas Reece Burns. In 2012, the Autry National Center funded restoration of the museum. The restoration was guided by Historic Preservation Architect, Drisko Studios.

Spectra Company was hired to complete the restoration of the exterior historic plaster that was facing deterioration problems and flaking layers.

Scope of Work

Facade Rehabilitation • Materials Restoration • Plaster • Self-Perform



Related Projects