History
Built in Los Angeles, the movie capital of the world, the museum is housed in the renovated and expanded May Company--now the Saban Building--on Wilshire Boulevard and a distinctive spherical addition designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano with Renzo Piano Building Workshop. The original May Company building was constructed in 1939 and many of our local LA visitors remember shopping there!
Specialties
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is the largest museum in the United States devoted to the arts, sciences, and artists of moviemaking. Global in outlook and grounded in the unparalleled collections and expertise of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Academy Museum offers exceptional exhibitions and programs that illuminate the world of cinema. They are immersive and dynamic and tell the many stories of the movies--their art, technology, artists, history, and social impact--through a variety of diverse and engaging voices. The Academy Museum will tell complete stories of moviemaking--celebratory, educational, and sometimes critical or uncomfortable. Every decision made at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures reflects a carefully crafted set of guiding principles that begins with the Mission Statement. These extend into the design of its exhibitions, the development of its public and educational programs, the creation of its publications, the hiring and growth of its staff, and the development of its board of trustees and committees.