Los Angeles Police Museum

What a great way to pay homage to those who protect and serve us everyday! Great exhibit of the North Hollywood bank robbery and the bullet-​ridden cars that were involved. Cool display of the original jail cells. Be sure to do the audio tour that’s included in the price of admission.

Been driving on York St. for couple of years and I always wondered what was in the museum (National Register of Historic Places in 1984). The day finally came when I walked into this old Highland Park Police station that was converted into a pretty neat Los Angeles Police Historical Society Museum.
Admission fee: General (ages 13 to 61) $ 9.00, Seniors (62+) $ 8.00, Children (12 and younger) Free, Members Free.
Parking: Plenty of parking! Doesn’t seem like there are many that visit here.
Ambiance/​Décor: Definitely looks and feels like something deserted like a ghost police station. Décor is pleasant to see. A lot of remnants of the past.
Service: The lady behind the counter was very nice. She told me to pay the admission fee of $ 9, sign-​in, and asked if I wanted a audio device for the self tour. Note: The audio device is a bit unsanitary.
Things to look at:
1) Photographs along the walls of the museum.
2) Old felony and misdemeanor jail cells (I got the chills looking at them)
3) Old squad cars, a paddy wagon, chopper (You can go in it), and bullet-​riddled vehicles from the 1997 North Hollywood Shooting.
4) Display cases of old handcuffs that are on loan to the museum. (You can also see the same type of handcuff that Houdini used for his magic trick)
5) Check out the 4 exhibits on the second floor (The famous 1997 North Hollywood Shootings, The Oil field shooting, S.L.A exhibit, and the gallery of LAPD uniforms).
Nice museum to look at!

A great museum for police history and L.A. crime.
This place covers it all and will leave you talking about it for years.
A must see.
George Vreeland Hill

I went to the Los Angeles Police Museum in 2015 with a friend. It is a pretty interesting museum, focused on police as the name indicates, but there are more interesting ones elsewhere in Los Angeles, starting with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
This museum is located in northeast LA, almost in Pasadena, and offers a convenient parking lot, located right next to the museum, so driving there is easy.
The museum’s exhibitions are pretty interesting and are focused on diverse Police stories, tactics, and uniforms. In this museum, you will have the opportunity to learn a lot about LA’s history as it relates to Police, with for example, the 1997 North Hollywood shooting in which many LAPD officers got shot.
Overall, my experience with the the Los Angeles Police Museum was positive and I would recommend it. Feel free to message me for any additional details that you may need!

Kids 12 and under Free
13 and up $ 9.00
We got here almost to closing time. I was disappointed that they don’t have the Black Dahlia display anymore plus the stuff inside one of the call box they took out.

Great little spot in my hood, full of info and history (right up my alley). the staff is very nice and you can tell they are or related closely to the law enforcement. Interesting stories of past crimes and memorials to policemen on duty. Good for the little ones or if your interested in this kind of stuff. Hollywood shootout, and tons of stuff to play with.

Visited a couple weeks ago… and I enjoyed it! I was so enthralled by the historical displays and the retired vehicles that before I knew it, I had spent three hours in there without falling asleep! :-D

When my girlfriend pulled up to this police station, I thought she was turning me in for the bounty. It’s not a station, but a museum. Whew. I guess something that weird only happens in the movies and TV.
«There’s a bomb on your bus»: The aspect I liked most were the items relating to the bomb squad like the bomb robots, bomb shield, and bomb disposal truck. I enjoyed the items even though there wasn’t anything to elaborate on or educate about the bomb squad.
«JAFO»: The motor pool in the back not only had vehicles and a bomb truck, but also a helicopter with a tiny, cramped fuselage. The copter was not a fictitious armored airship, but there were two armored vehicles. What could have used armor were two cars pierced with numerous bullets from a bank robbery.
«I’m getting to old for this»: As with most museums, there was plenty of old stuff to see like displays with old insignias, uniforms, and guns. But some of the old stuff was recovered evidence. Artifacts specific to well-​known crimes like the SLA bombings, Onion Field murders, and North Hollywood shoot-​out gives this museum something no other police museum can have.
«I thought you guys just ate doughnuts»: It’s a small museum where food and drink is not sold — not even a doughnut.
«Just the facts ma’am»: The museum is regularly open on the weekdays, but not on the weekends except for the third Saturday of each month. There was plenty of free parking. Admission was $ 9. Skip the free audio tour. Our visit took one hour.
«Just one more thing»: The building is an old police station and my second favorite part of the visit. Downstairs has the sergeant’s desk at the entrance. Jail cells and interrogation room are also on the first floor. Upstairs is the squad room which is flanked by offices and plenty of wonderful old wood.
Answer Key: The LAPD is probably found in more movies and TV shows than any other police force. So, I thought it appropriate to quote from Speed, Blue Thunder, Lethal Weapon, Die Hard, Dragnet, and Columbo which all featured the LAPD.

APPREHENDED, PROCESSED, AND THROWN IN THE SLAMMER!
(HP urban adventure part 1 of 3)
BACKGROUND:
Doors that had been closed for nearly two decades swung open. The Los Angeles Police Historical Society Museum became a reality in September, 2001. Since that time, the museum has evolved greatly and now houses a number of professionally executed exhibits like the Marguerite Justice Gallery of LAPD uniforms, Boeckmann Gallery of Los Angeles Police Commissions and the North Hollywood Shootout exhibit. The museum also houses archives of the LAPD history and a fleet of vehicles representative of various eras of the LAPD.
Cops have come and gone, as have the stations. But that which has survived lives on in the longest surviving police station in the City: Old Number 11, the Highland Park Police Station.
STATS:
HOURS OF OPERATION:
Monday through Friday 10:00am to 4:00 pm
Third Saturday of the Month 9:00 am to 3:00 pm
Museum Admission Fees:
General (ages 13 to 61) $ 9.00
Seniors (62+) $ 8.00
Children (12 and younger) Free
Members Free
*All children must be accompanied by an adult.
Free parking is available on the east and west side of the building.
For Group Tour Information, Call (877) 714-​LAPD
EXPERIENCE:
Recently a fellow hiker wanted to scout trail for an upcoming urban and asked if I would join since it was going to be in my childhood hood. We met here at the Los Angeles Police Museum, where we were greeted by a front line woman who welcomed us, gave a brief history lesson of the station in its current museum state, took our entrance fee and had us sign the register.
We were introduced to our docent, Sam Catalfarmo, who spent decades serving in this station as a detective.
So, a guy walks into the station with a beer in hand. The officer behind the desk informed him he was not allowed to drink in the station, he said, I just want to finish this because it will be a long time before I can have another one. I just shot and killed a man. Boom!!! Cuffed. That was Sam’s first case as a detective at Old Number 11.
Our tour was a travel in time, from the people, to the criminal processing and jailing, as well as weapons and constraints, and ballistics. As with most museums, this museum, at the time had a display of handcuffs used over the decades. Sam took us through the steps of being processed. He set us up for mug shots and threw us in the slammer.
Our tour continued out back where they have possession of patty wagons, military vehicles used to conduct drug busts, the actual vehicles of the North Hollywood bank robbery, the first jet helicopter, as well as other unit’s vehicles.
Back inside we traveled to the most serious offenders cells where one criminal actually hung himself in the cell. Kind of creepy.
Upward and onward upstairs where they held their daily roll-​call, had both male and female uniforms on display, and various bomb retrieval equipment. Then it got even more interesting. Sam took us through the history of the SLA, the Onion Field, and the North Hollywood shooting.
Here’s a piece of trivia, the playing of the bagpipes came about after the death of Ian Campbell, a bagpipe player who killed in the Onion Field.
Our last stop was in a room pictured covered walls of some of the most hardened criminals, such as Richard Ramirez and Charles Mansion that walked through the doors of this station.
Btw, I know it might be difficult to believe, but I wasn’t actually thrown in the slammer, I walked into the jail cell on my own free-​will for a photo op.
If you ever find yourself in the hood of Highland Park, support the Police Museum and take the 90 minute tour and after the tour take a peek into their gift shop, they have some great historical replica items for sale, as well as T-​shirts and stuff. Sam was a great docent, inter-​winding police history with his own experience as an officer brought life to our experience.
#museums #visithighlandpark #culture #history
#21

fun place to take silly facebook profile photos — stuck in jail, behind the wheel of an 1950s police car, driving a helicopter, being booked. lots of fun exhibits and videos upstairs, great for kids but it does echo upstairs (so we couldn’t stay too long since our kids happily screaming and running around didn’t make for happy fellow museum-​goers) and it doesn’t seem like they have a/​c upstairs and so it gets hot.
of note the check-​in deal isn’t valid anymore and they are free once a year in may for arroyo day but i think it’s definitely worth admission to check this place out, take out-​of-​towners. while the place isn’t big there are a lot of cool things to check out and the exhibits are extensive. they also have audio tours included, which seem like a great supplement — we just couldn’t handle chasing our little ones around while enjoying the museum 100% (although we’ll be back soon)! a great, non-​traditional first date place imho.

My husband is a police officer so we knew we had to check this out when we came to town (ESP with the restaurant being closed at the academy) It had a lot of interesting information and seeing the cars was also nice. It talked a lot about some situations that neither of us were very familiar with, so it was nice to learn about those circumstances. Prays are always with the LAPD and other police officers all over the world.

This review has only taken a year for me to write… I went to this museum back in April of 2013. I had read about it a few months earlier in an article about unusual L.A. museums. It immediately went on my list of places to explore. The hours make it a bit of a challenge to visit so I believe we went on Monday afternoon. When we arrived, we ran into the manager, Amy, whom Grant knew from the Egyptian. So, we got to see the museum for free:)! Gotta love how people from Pittsburgh seem to have an automatic bond (not true of Angelenos I’ve met in other cities)! Although the museum is small, it is full of interesting, didactic exhibits about the history of the police department in Los Angeles. I enjoy history, in general, and especially like learning about L.A. history, as a third-​generation Angeleno. The Police Museum did not disappoint. I especially liked the display outside featuring historical police vehicles and also civilian vehicles involved in major crimes.
I highly recommend a trip to Highland Park to visit this museum! I wish more people knew about this hidden gem.

Interesting museum. Place was empty when we went. We were the only patrons! If you like history and follow the news, this would be the place to go to. Admissions is $ 8. They have a lot that charges for parking, but it looked pretty empty to us, but to save money, we just parked on a side street across from the museum. Place has a cool collection of old police cars, and even a helicopter you can sit in. There’s also a bunch of old evidence from cases stored here. You can sit inside a jail cell and close the door. The only thing is that this place doesn’t have AC, then again, it is the oldest police station in LA.

Great opportunity to see something real in LA. Just go.

Checked out this museum during museums of the arroyo day, and was pleasantly surprised. I wasn’t expecting too much since it was a police museum, but the place more than beat my expectations. Since it used to be a actual police station, there is a real jail area you can get in and get a idea of how a jail cell feels like (if you have never been in one).
My son loved getting in the helicopter (great photo opp), and I enjoyed checking out the decent assortment of automatic firearms.

The Museum is very well put together a lot of LAPD history in this Historic Police Precinct Station. The Misdemeanor Jail cells steel bars and bunks are there, you can walk through them, great photo opportunities as well as a booking area for your own «Nick Nolte» like photo. The artifacts from the North Hollywood shooting as well as the «Gangster Squad» were very well put together and informative.
Some disappointments: The LAPHS website didn’t indicate they were remodeling, the vehicle exhibit was closed which was a terrible disappointment! The Director of the HS turned into an instant jerk when I mentioned it was disappointing, basically yelled at me, saying I had to stay out of the construction area… I wasn’t even near the fenced in area.
Unilocal gives you a 10% off at the gift store token, which the museum does not honor.

the los angeles police museum occupies the former highland park police station, which was decommissioned in 1983 when the LAPD moved their northeast division headquarters a couple of miles away to glassell park. built in 1946, the old station was designated a historic cultural monument by the city of los angeles in 1984 and it’s also on the national register of historic places.
steeped in history, the building is the perfect home for the police museum, which has a mission to collect, preserve, exhibit and interpret the history of the LAPD. the exhibitions consist of an impressive assemblage of photographs, uniforms, badges, weapons, police vehicles and various artifacts associated with several high-​profile crimes in the los angeles area.
i was pleasantly surprised when i finally visited this museum and ended up spending a solid hour and a half exploring the collections. i’m definitely planning on going back later this year when the outdoor expansion is completed to peruse all the police vehicles that are stored on-​site. they have some classic cop cars, motorcycles, a paddy wagon and even a police helicopter (!) that will be on view.
as for inside the building, there are a bunch of exhibitions, including several rooms dedicated to police activity/​investigations of the notorious ‘black dahlia’ murder, the SLA/​patty hearst case and the infamous 1997 north hollywood bank robbery and shoot out.
my favorite exhibition documented the evolution of women in the LAPD (did you know that they were originally called ‘matrons’ and wore nurse outfits?) but i also thoroughly enjoyed the presentation of police uniforms throughout the history of the force. and who doesn’t enjoy walking through several old jail cells and pretending to be a prisoner?

We went to the police museum on the last day of the Black Dahlia exhibit. The display turned out to be a disappointment, mostly consisting of letters and an autopsy report. There were only one or two crime scene photos taken from afar and a smattering of pictures of Elizabeth in the same outfit. Why didn’t they put what I assume has to be some very interesting items of evidence from the case on display?
Also strange is the lack of anything related to the Manson family murders. It’s a huge part of history and a huge part of LA history. They do have some things that were on display during a 2010 exhibition in Las Vegas. Damn!
On the plus side are that the museum is in a beautiful building that has been kept in great condition. If you like pictures of old timey policemen (and women), the walls are lined with them. There are jail cells you can sit in after you get your booking picture taken. You can take tough-​guy pictures with a gun (not real, duh) and sit on a motorcycle.
On the second floor is by far the best part of the museum: the North Hollywood shootout display. It’s responsible for an additional star. There’s a gripping video telling the shootout story seemingly in real time. In the room next door are the weapons the gunmen used, their clothing (with bullet holes) and more pictures.
The staff here is really friendly and patiently answered our questions. I’d go back again to see some of the other exhibits they said were coming up, but I hope they’ll be more interesting than the Dahlia one.
It seems as though it’s aiming to be family friendly, but I kind of wish there were another floor where the kids can’t go! That’s where they’d put the REALLY good stuff. And I’m not talking about «appeal to the lowest common denominator» kind of content — just some of the more interesting material I know must be hiding in the LAPD archives.

One Adam twelve — one Adam twelve, see the lady on York Blvd about a purse snatching.
Really cool stuff about the good old days of being a cop, pig, fuzz, flatfoot… etc.
LA natives can relate to the phone number
Really cool exhibits. Plan to spend about an hour here, then drive west to find some great taco trucks.
If the opening line of this review has you stumped — try Google.

Recently checked out the LAPM and thought it was okay.
Enjoyed the jail part and was fun to be able to take pics there but the rest of the first floor was very confusing. Also, the audio tour doesn’t quite match and goes off on a lot of tangents.
The upstairs was considerably more well organized and more interesting. I really enjoyed the Black Dahlia exhibit — it was small but informative. The other exhibits were also very interesting. the SLA and the North Hollywood shootout. .
I’d say the place is worth a visit but it was disapointing that all the outdoor exhibits were closed.

I can’t even recall how I came across the Black Dahlia advertisement for this musem, but regardless of your love and/​disdain towards the boys in blue (bka LAPD) I think everyone should come check this museum out.
Nestled in Highland Park this museum was once the Highland Park police station. Admission is $ 8 which comes with a free (its optional, but totally worth it) audio tour so you are able to get a bit of history behind each section of the building. You also get a map so that you have an idea of what you’ll see in each room. You get to see a cool camera that measured the ballistics of a bullet. From there you head into the holding cell for people who were charged with misdemeanors. It was pretty surreal to think that years ago people were actually held in the cells. Against the wall in the same room there showed a bunch of different types of handcuffs. Some looked really complicated and most likely painful if you had to have them attached to you.
There is also a section of the museum that is outside where you can view different types of LAPD vehicles. I giggled to myself when I saw the D.A.R.E. car. I remember going through that program quite a few times throughout elementary, junior high and high school. There was also a few old police cars, of which one my nephew grew an attachment to. I guess I’ll have to go find a Plymouth somewhere for him to work on and drive! Three of the more interesting vehicles are the ones involved in the 1997 North Hollywood Bank robbery. One car was used by the robbers, one car was an LAPD squad car and the last is an armored vehicle used to rescue the officers trapped behind the squad car. I remember watching it on television so it was amazing to see all of the cars up close and a bit surreal to see all of the bullet holes.
One of the highlights of the museum was one of the volunteers. His name was Mark and I think we spoke with him for probably close to 45 minutes. Essentially he is the care taker for the vehicles and part of his problem is that the area formally used to be covered. A lot of wear and tear due to weather and neighborhood cats (eck, not a cat lover!) has made it difficult to keep the display in pristine condition. Its sad really that there isn’t a way to raise funds to get it built.
He used to work for the Hawthorne Police Department and was giving us a colorful history of the city of Hawthorne. Really nice guy and even told us about how he spent 8 months training in the Nigerian Air Force! If you happen to go on a day that he’s there, consider yourself lucky because he’s highly knowledgeable and he also has a deep respect for the history of not only the LAPD, but the city of Los Angeles in general. Kudos to Mark !
The second floor of the building consists of an exhibit with the Symbionese Liberation Army, the Black Dahlia exhibit (leaves June 16^th, 2012) and the North Hollywood shootout. There is also a room that consists of LAPD uniforms throughout history which was pretty neat.
Of the three exhibits, the North Hollywood shootout display was probably the most intriguing. You got to see all of the weapons that the robbers had used in the shoot out. They also had mannequins dressed in clothing that was similar to what they wore the day of the shooting. The best part of the exhibit is that they have an area where you can actually watch the shootout. I took my nephew with me who at the time of the shoot out was 2 years old so this was totally unfamiliar to him. Even watching it myself you get new insight into the case. It is a bit graphic since one of the guys committed suicide (and they do not bleep this out btw). It’s pretty surreal and one thing I found interesting is that both robbers at the time were on downers which is why it probably enabled them to seem so calm during the whole ordeal.
The exhibit I came to see, the Black Dahlia, was pretty interesting as well. It was cool to see the pictures of the crime scene as it was in the 1940s. I know the area where they found her body and it looks very different today. It still remains and unsolved case to this day which is why the exhibit is there only temporarily.
There is a third level to the museum which talks about the long standing police chief. It also has pictures of the police Department and infamous criminals such as Charles Manson and Richard Ramirez.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first arrived to the museum, but I can say that without question I was very impressed by what I saw. I’m sure many people in LA aren’t even aware that this place exists. This is definitely a hidden gem that needs more exposure and I also think it helps to provide a different prospective on how challenging it can be to be in that profession.

This review is for 12/​17/​2011. Did you know the LAPD has museum dedicated to them? I didn’t until now. With Los Angeles being one of the biggest cities in the United States, it has its share of crime, but more importantly its heroics. With 9000+ LAPD Officers on the street, I wanted to know what it was like to be behind the badge at the Los Angeles Police Historical Society.
I have never been to this part of Los Angeles before, but I am glad that I have found this place. I am not sure if the museum used to be a former police station, but it sure looked like it with the steps. I walked in and was greeted by the staff. Admission is $ 8, but is free if you are a member. You have your choice of a guided tour or you can use the Electronic Audio Guide. I opted in to use the electronic guide. There are three floors and the vehicles from the past to present on the back lot.
There were exhibits ranging from the beginnings of the LAPD to the times of crisis (SLA, Symbionese Liberation Army, to North Hollywood Shootout). There were some startling events that happened in Los Angeles that scared the life out of me. i saw lots of shell casings from the North Hollywood Shootout to the attempted assassination with a pipe bomb of LAPD Officers from SLA. A lot of the equipment were donated from past and present LAPD Officers. Even Dragnet’s Sergeant Joe Friday donated an award for the TV Series. I am sure Harry Morgan’s Detective Gannon may show up soon.
The museum would give you new perspective of how the department operates and how much time these Peace Officers are committed to safety and security. Overall, I respect the LAPD. If you think all they do is bother us because we are speeding or just seem to be in our business, they have good reason. You need to see past the badge and if you were an officer, you’ll see that there is a human being just like all of us.
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