Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, Los Angeles

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles was established by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to celebrate the history of cinema and the art of filmmaking.

The museum is located at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue, on the so-called “Museum Row”, in Los Angeles’ Miracle Mile neighborhood, close to other museums such as The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), The Petersen Automotive Museum, the A+D Architecture & Design Museum, the Craft and Folk Art Museum, and the La Brea Tar Pits pavilions.

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, aerial view; photo © Academy Museum Foundation

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is housed in the former 1939 May Company department store, a Streamline Moderne-style building renovated by famed Italian architect Renzo Piano. Piano also designed an iconic expansion, the Sphere Building, whose shape was seemingly inspired by a dirigible (though it reminds me more of Darth Vader’s Death Star galactic superweapon, honestly).
“The new structure, the Sphere Building, is a form that seems to lift off the ground into the perpetual, imaginary voyage through space and time that is moviegoing.”  Renzo Piano says.

The expansion is a huge spherical construction, topped by a dome-covered panoramic roof terrace, containing a 1,000-seat auditorium. The museum complex comprises galleries for permanent and special exhibitions, two theaters, workshops, education studios, a library, a restaurant, and a store.

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles; on the left: the Sphere Building, on the right: the May Company department store building (now re-named the Saban Building); © Renzo Piano Building Workshop / © Academy Museum Foundation / Image from L’Autre Image.

The Spere Building topped by the Dolby Family Terrace; © Renzo Piano Building Workshop / © Academy Museum Foundation / Images from L’Autre Image and Cristiano Zaccaria.

The permanent exhibition of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is based on the museum’s collection, the collections of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, and the Academy Film Archive; which feature over 300,000 objects overall, including documents, photographs, books, posters, production art, settings, props, costumes, technical equipment, audio recordings, and films.

The museum’s program of events and activities includes special exhibitions, interactive installations, film screenings, educational activities, and special events.

Academy Museum of Motion Pictures – Los Angeles; longitudinal cross-section and a rendering of the lobby (Cristiano Zaccaria); © Renzo Piano Building Workshop / © Academy Museum Foundation

Cover image: © Renzo Piano Building Workshop / © Academy Museum Foundation / Image from L’Autre Image