#107: Gene Autry National Center

Photo from http://www.seeing-stars.com/ImagePages/GeneAutryMuseumPhoto1.shtml

My fondest memory of my Autry visit was riding on a fake horse saddle to cowboy music while my image was projected on a blue screen. Little kids watched, waiting in line for their turn, parents laughed at me, and for a brief 90 seconds I was the cowgirl I always knew I could be.

The Autry National Center in Griffith Park/Los Feliz celebrates the cowboys and Native Americans of the Wild West. It contains a theater that puts on shows throughout the year and features galleries with themes of "conquest" "opportunity" and "community". The museum is family friendly. Kids particularly seemed to like the wild west recreated town. Walking through it felt like you were in one of those shoot-em-up movies and Butch Cassidy was just around the corner.

The Autry could not be in a more beautiful location. Just around the bend is the L.A. Zoo and the Griffith Observatory.

The Autry