Italian American Museum of Los Angeles

The Italian American Museum of Los Angeles, IAMLA for short, fills the Italian Hall at 644 N Main St, on the north end of downtown by the old Plaza and Olvera Street. The hall went up in 1908 as a community center for the city's Little Italy, and the museum calls it one of the oldest buildings left from that neighborhood. It's on the National Register of Historic Places. Inside is a 6,000 square foot museum with a permanent exhibition on the Italian American experience, temporary shows that rotate through, and a program of talks, cooking classes and genealogy help. The words ITALIAN HALL sit above a wrought iron balcony on the Main Street front, so the building is easy to pick out.

Concerts here are occasional and small, booked by the museum itself as part of its own programming rather than by outside promoters. The site's events page lists an opera evening and a golf benefit, which tells you the range. Start times vary by event, and doors, tickets and any age rule come from the event listing.

General visits are free, with donations encouraged, and the contact page lists hours of 10 AM to 3 PM, Wednesday through Sunday. For parking the museum points you to Lot 2 on Main Street, directly across from the building, and links a parking map on its contact page. Union Station is a few blocks east across Alameda Street, which makes this one of the easier downtown venues to reach by Metro rail. If you have time before a show, the Plaza and Olvera Street are right outside the door.