When Eli Broad and his wife Edythe began amassing their personal art collection their dream was to one day create a place where it could all be accessible to everyone. When their namesake museum, The Broad, opened in 2015 in Downtown Los Angeles, their dream came to fruition.
Today the museum, housed in a $140 million building financed by the Broads for the purpose of housing and displaying their massive collection, is giving everyone a chance to enjoy their massive collection and gain an appreciation for contemporary art. Entrance is free, making it a great place for families visiting Los Angeles to explore the world of art.
The building itself is a piece of contemporary art, ensuring your experience begins before you even enter the door. From the outside the building resembles a giant honeycomb, actually part of the building’s core design concept of “veil and vault.” The outside is designed as a covering for the interior core of the building, the vault, which houses the portion of the Broad’s enormous art collection not currently on display. The interior exhibit areas cover two floors of the museum with the core storage vault easily viewed from within the building’s center stairwell.
An exhibit at The Broad in Los Angeles, California. Photo: Coralimages2020 | Dreamstime.com
The collections inside encompass a wide variety of artist and mediums, causing even the most skeptical of art critic to stop and think. While visitors each have their own unique tastes when it comes to art, the Broad’s wide variety of exhibits guarantees there will be something for everyone, while giving everyone a chance to explore art they may not otherwise choose to look at. Andy Warhol’s famous Campbell soup can piece is housed at the Broad, along with several other Warhol originals. Jeff Koons “Balloon Dog (Blue)”, a massive installation of mirror-polished stainless steel with a transparent coating designed in the shape of a balloon dog, is a favorite for children of all ages. Robert Therrien’s “Under The Table,” an enormous table and chairs set large it takes up its own room, creates a sense of Alice in Wonderland when Alice is small. Visitors can wander freely under the chairs and table, marveling at the enormity of the piece.
The museum’s biggest draw is the “Infinity Mirror Rooms” created by artist Yayoi Kusama. These unique installations create a sense of infinity within a tiny mirrored room. When you arrive at the museum you can sign up at the iPad kiosk in the lobby to arrange a time to be admitted to one of the rooms. At your designated time, you will be allowed to enter for a short time. Once in the room the overhead lights will go out, illuminating thousands of smaller lights hanging from the ceiling, creating a sense of infinity reflecting in the mirrors surrounding you. While the entire thing only lasts 45 seconds, the surreal experience is like no other.
While the museum is free to enter, the staff carefully monitors the building’s capacity in appreciation of the fact too many visitors makes the viewing of the museum’s collections less enjoyable. For that reason, tickets are timed in an effort to control the number of attendees at any given time. Simply visit the museum’s website to secure your timed entrance but if you prefer to take your chances, visitors are welcome to stand in line outside to be admitted as space permits.
Read This Next
#WhereverFamily
Insta FeedNorth America
Sep 3, 20266 Winnipeg, Canada, Destinations for Family Travel
It’s time to start dreaming of your next family trip. Here’s some destination inspiration for you. Take a visual journey through Winnipeg, Canada, with us.
Sponsored Content
Best of Both Worlds
Enjoy the best of both worlds when you fly with TAP Air Portugal thanks to the Portugal Stopover program. With the program, TAP passengers, whether traveling for business, leisure or both, can stop in Portugal for up to 10 days at no additional airfare on the way to their final destination. What does this mean for travelers wishing to explore by both land and sea? It means after flying to Portugal with TAP and experiencing the country in an entirely new way, travelers can then embark on scenic river and ocean cruises from Portugal’s port cities, or fly with TAP to another European destination.
Hotels
Sep 3, 20263 Caribbean, Latin American Marriott Hotels for Multigen Trips
Multigenerational travel continues to grow in popularity, with family travelers moving away from traditional getaways for meaningful trips with family members of all ages. The Caribbean and Latin America are growing destinations of interest for this type of travel, and three Marriott properties offer opportunities for multigen families to create lifelong memories.
Destinations
Sep 2, 2026Look Past the Traditional Classroom with Scott Dunn’s Back-to-School Itineraries
Parents looking to provide their kids with hands-on learning experiences going beyond textbooks by visiting unique destinations with family-centric approaches will find that and more with Scott Dunn's private, expert-led itineraries. These experiences provide lessons the classroom cannot.
Sponsored Content
GET TO KNOW TAP FORBIZ
Unlock flexible, refined business travel with TAP Air Portugal’s program, TAP FORBIZ. Developed for small, medium and large Companies, with options for corporate events, TAP FORBIZ offers exclusive advantages adapted to each type of business.
Destinations / North America
Sep 2, 2026Visit an Old-Fashioned County Fair in Maine
Celebrate autumn with a family trip to a traditional New England county fair. These annual celebrations of agriculture and country life are filled with sights and activities for the whole family to enjoy, from admiring prize pumpkins and meeting live animals to witnessing horse shows, listening to country music and dancing, and doing craft demonstrations. Most fairs also have carnival rides and hands-on activities for kids.
ShareThis