The Wende Museum

The Wende Museum is at 10808 Culver Blvd in Culver City, a short walk from the corner of Culver and Overland. It opened in 2002 as a home for Cold War-era art and archives, and the collection has grown past 200,000 objects, among them eleven sections of the Berlin Wall. Admission to the galleries is free, and so is every public program.

The concerts happen a few doors east at the museum's Community Center, 10858 Culver Blvd. That building is a 7,500 square foot former theater the Wende rebuilt with a theatre, classrooms and a learning garden, and the museum's calendar lists it as the venue for its music dates. Recent ones include a chamber strings and electronics night from Emersion Music, a Polish ensemble playing Bach and Pärt before a talk with a curator, Helix Collective performing music written for public broadcasting, and an evening Jazz Refractions set. KCRW has also thrown a free, all-ages Summer Nights party on the campus. Your ticket will say which building to head for.

Tickets cost nothing, but register anyway. At the bigger events the museum seats registered guests first and opens standby seating only if room is left. Programs are all ages, and the museum asks that children under 11 come with an adult. Parcels larger than 11 by 15 inches stay out of the galleries unless you have permission, anything you carry can be searched, and the whole property is smoke-free, vaping included.

Parking is free in the city lots beside the museum, and there are EV chargers close by at the Veterans Memorial Building on Overland Ave. Culver City bus lines 3 and 7 stop nearby, and the museum points transit riders to the Metro E Line for connections. Bikes aren't allowed anywhere on the campus, so lock up at the public racks on the sidewalk by the Community Center.

Gallery hours are Friday to Sunday, 10 AM to 5 PM. The museum is closed Monday and Tuesday and opens Wednesday and Thursday for school tours only. Free public tours run at 11:30 AM on Fridays and 2:30 PM on Saturdays and Sundays, unless a program bumps them.