The Petersen Automotive Museum is an automobile museum located on Wilshire Boulevard along Museum Row in the Miracle Mile neighborhood of Los Angeles . One of the world's largest collections, the Petersen Automotive Museum is a nonprofit organization specializing in automobile history and related educational programs.
16-584: Founded on June 11, 1994, by magazine publisher Robert E. Petersen and his wife Margie, the $ 40-million Petersen Automotive Museum is owned and operated by the Petersen Automotive Museum Foundation. The museum was originally located within the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County , and later moved to a historic department store designed by Welton Becket . Opened in 1962, the building first served as
32-702: A private equity fund for $ 450 million which, in 1999, sold it for $ 2 billion to publisher EMAP . In 2001 it was sold to Primedia . In 2007 Primedia's enthusiast publications, including all the once-Petersen titles, were again sold to Source Interlink, controlled by Ron Burkle . In 1999 Petersen bought Sports Afield from Hearst Corporation and he sold it in 2002 to the owners of Safari Press . He died on March 23, 2007, at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California , of complications from neuroendocrine cancer . Margie Petersen died on November 25, 2011. An avid hunter and collector, Petersen had amassed
48-415: A collection of interactive teaching exhibits. Special displays on the industry floor cover racing, motorcycles, hot rods and customs. The third floor chronicles the history of the automobile, with an emphasis on the car culture of Southern California . Some of the museums exhibits have included: The museum's collection of vehicles includes: The museum received a $ 100-million gift from Margie Petersen and
64-460: A short-lived U.S. branch of Seibu Department Stores , before operating as an Ohrbach's department store from 1965 to 1986. Six years after Ohrbach's closed, Robert Petersen selected the largely windowless site as an ideal space for a museum—allowing artifacts to be displayed without harmful exposure to direct sunlight. On March 9, 1997, rapper the Notorious B.I.G. was murdered just outside
80-569: A sizable collection featuring hundreds of unique and historically significant antique and modern firearms. Following Petersen's death, in following with his wishes, Petersen's widow donated a 400-piece portion of his extensive collection to the National Rifle Association's National Firearms Museum in Fairfax, VA. Among his collection the work of firearm engraver Richard Roy of Connecticut Shotgun are displayed. In addition, he
96-665: A successful debut, the magazine continued to sell out and grow in readership. By mid-1949, monthly sales exceeded 50,000 copies. Starting from this, Petersen built his publishing empire on automotive-themed publications, including Car Craft , Rod & Custom , Sports Car Graphic , and Motor Trend . He also published CARtoons , Guns & Ammo , SPORT , Motorcyclist , Motor Life , Hunting , Mountain Biker , Photographic , Teen , Tiger Beat , and Sassy Magazine , 4 Wheel and Off Road In 1996, Petersen sold his company Petersen Publishing Company to
112-454: A year. After being laid off during staff cuts, Petersen and other ex-MGM staff started Hollywood Publicity Associates , a consulting firm. In the summer of 1947, the company was commissioned to publicize an exhibition of hot rods held the following winter. While working to promote the exhibition, Petersen realized that there were no media specific to hot rods or hot-rodding. Seeing an opportunity, Petersen and Robert Lindsay, another member of
128-467: Is the owner of the only three Parker Invincibles ever produced by Parker Bros. He married Margie McNally in 1963 and had two sons who died in a 1975 plane crash. They resided in a mansion located at 625 Mountain drive in Beverly Hills, California , formerly owned by actors Harry Joe Brown and Sally Eilers . It was designed by architect Paul R. Williams and built from 1937 to 1938. He
144-647: The Margie & Robert E. Petersen Foundation in April 2011, which includes cash and the property the museum was leasing, as well as many of the vehicles belonging to the Petersens. Robert E. Petersen Robert Einar " Pete " Petersen (September 10, 1926 – March 23, 2007) was an American publisher who founded the Petersen Automotive Museum in 1994. Robert Einar "Pete" Petersen
160-624: The building in a drive-by shooting , after having attended a party at the museum. In 2014 and 2015, the museum underwent an extensive $ 125 million renovation. The building's façade was redesigned by the architectural firm Kohn Pedersen Fox , and features a stainless-steel ribbon assembly made of 100 tons of 14-gauge type 304 steel in 308 sections, 25 supports and 140,000 custom stainless-steel screws. Designers at The Scenic Route worked with museum planner, Matt Kirchman of ObjectIDEA Planning and Design to configure interior spaces to accommodate new themes and changing exhibits. The remodeled museum opened to
176-437: The editors-in-chief was John Mcgann. Previous editors included Rick Voegelin, Jon Asher, Jeff Smith, John Baechtel, Chuck Schifsky, Matt King, David Freiburger and Douglas Glad. Car Craft named an annual All-Star drag racing team each year plus a lifetime achievement award. On December 9, 2019, MotorTrend publisher TEN Publishing announced that they will cease publishing of Car Craft , alongside 18 other magazines. March 2020
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#1732797891643192-498: The promotion team for the exhibition, left Hollywood Publicity Associates that autumn and began development of Hot Rod magazine. The first issue of the magazine, with a run of 5,000 copies, was released to coincide with the Los Angeles Hot Rod Exhibition, the show Petersen and Lindsay were initially contracted to publicize. The founders sold the copies of the magazine at the steps of the exhibition. After
208-458: The public on December 7, 2015. The museum has over 100 vehicles on display in its 25 galleries. The remaining half is kept in a vault on the building's basement level. Age restrictions and an admission premium are in effect to view the vault collection. The ground floor focuses on automotive artistry, showcasing an array of extravagant automobiles. The second floor is principally concerned with industrial engineering—including design, performance, and
224-408: Was Loud, Fast, Real , which emphasized its more budget-oriented approach to automobile building. When compared to similar magazines, Car Craft often featured vehicles built on a "real world" budget, with an emphasis on functionality over style. Sister publication Hot Rod overlapped to an extent on some of the same subject matter, however Hot Rod covered more professionally built vehicles. One of
240-602: Was born on September 10, 1926, in East Los Angeles, California . He was of Danish descent. He learned about cars from helping his father, a truck mechanic. After graduating from Barstow High School , he served in the Army Air Corps in World War II . After the war, Petersen left Barstow, California , for Los Angeles and found work at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), becoming a publicist there within
256-534: Was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2013. Car Craft Car Craft was a magazine devoted to automobiles , hot rodding , and drag racing . It was published by the Motor Trend Group . It was established in 1953. The magazine published articles directed at inexperienced and expert car mechanics, such as rebuilding a carburetor . The motto of the magazine
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