I walked down the long hallway leading to the elevator that would take me to the museum. I paused for a moment about halfway down reconsidering going further. The hallway was what nightmares are made of, long, cold, and disconcerting. It was also making a humming sound that convinced me that something horrible was about to happen. I reached the elevator and entered a tiny lobby area where the elevator opened the second I walked in. I was officially freaked. Thank anything holy, there was a very nice elevator operator, otherwise I would have turned and ran. The elevator proceeded to take me to the second floor where the exhibits are housed.
The museum itself is beautiful. Set on top of a hill it is hard to miss this one-time mission. The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am until 5pm.
Overall, I found the museum boring and excessively hard to navigate. Later, I found that the building was under extensive renovation so the vast majority of the exhibits were shut down (no mention of when the exhibits would be reopened to the public). Most of the bottom floor wasn’t accessible, and the maps didn’t help. However, on its behalf, the museum is the oldest in Los Angeles and works to preserve the nation's most important American Indian artifacts including blankets and baskets.
While on the botanical tour, I did see some of the baskets that were woven. The natives that were in the area were known for having the tightest woven baskets, so that they could carry water.
The botanical garden is well worth the stop, but only if they are doing a tour. The garden in itself isn’t much to look at, but the woman who gives the tour is a vessel full of knowledge on how the natives of California lived and hunted. The tour is extremely long. I cut out 45 minutes into it and it wasn’t halfway over. However, during the tour she pointed out all of the plants and how they were used. She even demonstrated how the Native Americans of the area collected acorns, crushed them, and made mush to eat. Don’t think that this is just a tour about what they ate. The plants on the grounds were used to make baskets, musical interments, and toys. The bugs that were even found on the plants could be used as dyes. She also gave an in-depth look at how they lived, solved problems, and their migration patterns through the southlands. This tour gives great insight into the day-to-day lives of the natives of southern California.