My husband and I are big history buffs as well as lovers of old films. We recently combined both of our passions and checked out the latest exhibit at the Hollywood Heritage Museum. The current exhibit is The Rise of Hollywood’s Leading Ladies. It features great costumes from many of the early female stars including May West, Lucille Ball, Betty Hutton, Dorothy Lamour and Claudette Colbert. Also, the show includes artifacts such as one of Greta Garbo’s designer handbags and Carol Lombard’s black veil – one of the few items that survived the TWA plane crash that killed her in 1942.
The museum is located in the famous Lasky DeMille barn – the former site of the oldest Hollywood movie studio. The building started out as a horse barn on a citrus farm. Early movie-making pioneers moved to Los Angeles to escape oppressive patent controls by Thomas Edison. Plus, the original movie cameras required a lot of bright natural light. California offered better natural lighting and terrific scenery for outdoor filming locations. In 1913, movie director Cecil B DeMille rented out the barn to film The Squaw Man. The Squaw Man was released in 1914 and is one of the very first full-length movies made in Hollywood.
The barn was subsequently moved several times , including to the Paramount lot in 1926. In 1983, the barn was moved to its current location on Highland Boulevard – across the street from the famous Hollywood Bowl. It is a miracle it was not destroyed. Fortunately, the building was declared a historic California State Park landmark in 1956.
I highly recommend a visit to this museum. The docents are incredibly knowledgeable and eager to share the building’s history and other fun facts. However, if you’re feeling more independent, they are equally willing to give you your space. Also, I love the fact that the staff allows visitors to take unlimited photos throughout the museum.
NO time for boredom today 
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