Home-Grown Museums : From Cars to Stars, Historic Mementos Are on View in Local Collections

Los Angeles has MoCA, New York has the Met and Washington has the Smithsonian.

Impressive. But do they have a Tower of Beauty, a turn-of-the-century hotel complete with period kitchen implements, a silent-film star’s rancho and a tribute to the dentist who founded a city?

To see these homespun museums, you need go no further than the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys.

Western Hotel/Museum

557 W. Lancaster Blvd., Lancaster

Hours: noon to 4 p.m., Fridays through Sundays.

Information: (805) 723-6250

Admission: Free.

History: Built in the late 1880s, the hotel was owned and operated into the 1960s by Myrtie Webber, who died in 1978 at age 110. It was scheduled for demolition when in the late 1970s residents efforts helped save it.

Main attractions: Hotel memorabilia including the original furniture and beds and mannequins with period costumes.

Unique attraction: Grammar school picture of a young Judy Garland from when her family briefly lived in Lancaster.

William S. Hart Museum

24151 San Fernando Road, Newhall

Hours: Currently, tours every half hour from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, with last tour at 12:30 p.m., and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, with last tour at 3:30 p.m. From mid-June to mid-September, hours are expanded from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.

Information: (805) 254-4584

Admission: Free; donations are accepted.

History: Film cowboy William S. Hart bequeathed his 1927 retirement home and 235 acres to the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks. The home has been kept exactly as Hart left it, down to the clothing in the drawers.

Main attractions: Relics of Hart’s past; works of Western artist Charles M. Russell; Navajo rugs; saddle with sterling silver ornamentation; ranch house with memorabilia; small barnyard with horses, goats and birds.

Unique attraction: Live buffalo roaming the park near the house.

Gordon R. Howard Museum Complex

115 N. Lomita St. and 1015 W. Olive Ave., Burbank

Hours: 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays. Groups of 10 of more may tour the museum by reservation.

Information: (818) 841-6333

Admission: Free; donations are accepted.

History: The museum was initially supported by real estate developer Gordon R. Howard and is now operated by the Burbank Historical Society. One portion of the museum is the “Mentzer House,” a 1887 Eastlake design home with 11-foot ceilings that have been completely restored and refurnished. It was one of the first homes that Dr. David Burbank built in the area.

Main attractions: Exhibits on NBC, Disney and Lockheed; antique dolls; Native American artifacts; display on the St. Louis Browns; the “Ray Sence Room,” depicting a restored Victorian home; fire hat and camera collections; and various vehicles including 1937 SS100 Jaguar, 1937 Rolls Royce and a 1949 Seagrave fire engine.

Unique attraction: Mementos from 19th-Century heavyweight boxing champion James Jeffries.

Merle Norman Classic Beauty Collection

* a.k.a: Tower of Beauty

15180 Bledsoe St., Sylmar

Hours: Currently closed for earthquake repairs and restoration. Those interested should inquire in January.

Information: (818) 367-2251

Admission: Free.

History: Assembled by J.B. Nethercutt, chairman of the board and co-founder of Merle Norman Cosmetics, and his wife Dorothy. Main attractions: More than 30 antique, classic and sports cars; musical instruments; and music boxes.

Unique attraction: Collection of hood ornaments.

Source: Museum officials; Researched by STEPHANIE STASSEL / Los Angeles Times