The Museum’s permanent exhibition, now reopened, tells the story of how Los Angeles transformed from a tiny pueblo to a sprawling metropolis. It’s a 500-year saga of how L.A. went from cowboys to cars, which battles raged in its backyards, how Hollywood was born, and why an aqueduct changed everything.

The newly reimagined exhibition is an even larger story. The most profound change is the bigger presence of the diverse voices of Angelenos. You’ll see a video in which community leaders share what it means to be an Indigenous Californian living in L.A. today. And at listening stations in the galleries, you’ll hear the audio recordings of Museum visitors who came before you, and then you can share your story about what L.A. is to you. We have also added colorful murals that evoke local issues, including suburban sprawl and water wars, and a one-of-a-kind altar, an homage to L.A. diversity. In Becoming Los Angeles, you’ll discover how people’s actions intersected with nature, and changed a remote frontier to the L.A. we know today.