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The J. Paul Getty museum  J. Paul Getty viewed art as a civilizing influence in society, and strongly believed in making art available to the public for its education and enjoyment. He founded the J. Paul Getty Museum in 1953. This small museum, established in his ranch house in Malibu, housed collections of Greek and Roman antiquities, 18th -century French furniture, and European paintings. Fascinated with the ancient world of the Mediterranean, he later built a Roman-style villa, modeled after the 1st-century AD Villa dei Papiri.

When most of Mr. Getty's personal estate passed to the Trust in 1982, the Trustees sought to make a greater contribution to the visual arts through an expanded museum as well as a range of new programs. Planning for the Getty Center began in the mid 1980s, when property in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles was acquired by the J. Paul Getty Trust and the American architectural firm of Richard Meier & Partners was awarded the design commission.

The Getty Center, a dramatic hill-top campus in Los Angeles, opened in 1997. The Villa closed for renovation that same year and will reopen in the future as a center for comparative archaeology and cultures.

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.The mission of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is to inspire wonder, discovery and responsibility for our natural and cultural worlds. The Museum holds in its trust a vast and diverse collection of more than 33 million specimens and artifacts covering 4.5 billion years of Earth and human history. Free admission is offered to Los Angeles Unified school groups and a host of community outreach programs, monthly lectures and classes are offered to adults and children. Children's educational programs such as "Adventures in Nature" are offered each winter and summer, and the Museum houses an interactive Discovery Center and Insect Zoo where children can learn first-hand about natural science and history.

The Chinese Theatre in Hollywood is the most famous movie theatre in the world. Millions of visitors flock here each year, most of them drawn by its legendary forecourt with its footprints of the stars. Yet the Chinese Theatre is also a fine place to see a movie in its own right, a spectacular movie palace with a unique history.
 

Historic Old Town Pasadena California
  is located just minutes from downtown Los Angeles in the beautiful San Gabriel Valley. Bordered by Marengo Ave. on the East and Pasadena Avenue on the West, Old Pasadena stretches from Holly Street on the North to Green Street on the South. Shown below in a photo circa 1928 and to the left as it appears today, is Colorado Boulevard. Better known as the street on which the major portion of the annual Rose Parade takes place, Colorado Boulevard has become the main strip of Old Pasadena and is packed with pedestrians and vehicles nightly. A Mecca of entertainment, dining and shopping, Old Pasadena and bordering areas including South Lake Avenue have become increasingly popular as tourist attractions and night spots.

Naples, California is a peninsula on the southern most tip of Long Beach.
With street names Toledo and Florence, canals called Rivo Alto and Colonnade, you'll think you're in Italy. Naples did not occur by accident but was the concept of A.M. Parsons. While he and son, A.C., sold lots on the Peninsula in 1903, they dreamed of a city with canals, gondolas and houses with red tile roofs. A.M. Parsons formed Naples Company with financier Henry Huntington, in hopes of creating a taste of Italy on the California coast. Unfortunately, the marshland property was difficult to build on, making the huge project a costly and daunting task. Still, the press declared "Bold Scheme Not a Dream," as Naples started to take shape in 1907.