USC Pacific Asia Museum facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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USC Pacific Asia Museum
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USC Pacific Asia Museum, exterior.
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| Location | 46 N. Los Robles Ave Pasadena, California |
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| Built | 1924 |
| Architect | Marston, Van Pelt & Maybury |
| NRHP reference No. | 77000300 |
| Added to NRHP | July 21, 1977 |
The USC Pacific Asia Museum is a cool place to explore Asian art! It's a museum located in Pasadena, California. You can find it at 46 N. Los Robles Avenue.
This museum started in 1971. A group called the Pacificulture Foundation bought a special building. It was known as "The Grace Nicholson Treasure House of Oriental Art." Grace Nicholson was a collector who loved art from Native Americans and later from Asia. She gave the building to the city in 1943 for art and cultural events. Today, the museum has about 15,000 amazing pieces of art. These artworks come from all over Asia and the Pacific Islands. In 2013, the museum became part of the University of Southern California. The building was closed for a while from June 2016 to December 2017. This was for important safety updates and renovations. It reopened on December 8, 2017, with new visiting hours.
Contents
The Museum Building: A Palace Look
The museum building itself is very special. It's even listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This means it's an important historical site in the United States. The building was finished in 1926. It was designed by architects Marston, Van Pelt & Maybury.
The design looks like an old Chinese imperial palace. It has a beautiful central courtyard. In the courtyard, you'll find a lovely garden, a small pool, and cool decorative carvings. It's a peaceful place to visit!
What You Can See Inside
The museum has many different galleries. Each gallery focuses on art from specific regions or types. Here are some of the collections you can explore:
- The Art of Pacific Asia
- Japanese Art
- Snukal Ceramics
- Journeys: The Silk Road (about the famous trade route)
- South and Southeast Asian Art
- Himalayan Art
- Korean Art
Past Special Shows
The museum often has exciting temporary exhibits. These shows bring in unique art and ideas.
In 2009, one cool exhibit mixed Chinese calligraphy with American graffiti. Calligraphy is beautiful artistic writing. Graffiti is street art. This show was called "Calligraffiti: Crossing the Divide." It showed how these two different art forms could come together. You can find more about it on the US-China Today website.
Other interesting exhibits have included:
- China Modern: Designing Popular Culture 1910-1970 (August 6, 2010 - February 6, 2011)
- Japan in Blue and White (March 25, 2010 - March 6, 2011)
- "Following the box" - This exhibit was inspired by old photographs. These photos were found and taken in India during World War II (September 2019 - January 2020). You can read more about it here.
A Special Historical Spot
The museum is also a California Historical Landmark. This means it's a very important place in California's history. Landmark Marker NO. 988 is at the museum. It tells us about its history:
- NO. 988 PACIFIC ASIA MUSEUM (GRACE NICHOLSON'S TREASURE HOUSE OF ORIENTAL AND WESTERN ART) - Grace Nicholson was a famous collector. She knew a lot about American Indian and Asian Art. She helped design her gallery and museum. It was finished in 1929. People say it's a great example of 1920s architecture. It's special because it uses Chinese decorations.
See also
- Chinese garden - the museum courtyard
