For Richard’s once-a-year birthday bus adventure marking the milestone of half a century, we invite you to join us for an all-day outing exploring the architecture, history and landscape of Southern California.

This is a one-time only event that will NEVER be repeated. At the heart of our adventure is a stunning new exhibition curated by Erin Chase, “Architects of a Golden Age: Highlights from The Huntington’s Southern California Architecture Collection.”

But we’ve got so much more than an exhibition tour in store!

You’ll board our comfortable tour bus at The Huntington, then head downtown for immersive visits to several of the significant Art Deco landmarks featured in the show. Stops include:

• Chinatown Central Plaza: Y. C. Hong Law Office (Webster & Wilson, 1939)
• Mayan Theater (Morgan, Walls & Clements, 1927) – exterior tour
• Pacific Stock Exchange (Samuel E. Lunden, architect, John & Donald Parkinson, consulting architects, 1929)
• Union Station (John & Donald Parkinson, 1938)

Then it’s back to The Huntington for lunch—you can bring your own, or purchase a meal on site—and complementary birthday cake.

Next, curator Erin Chase will walk us through her exhibition, where you’ll see original artist’s renderings of some of the buildings you toured this morning, and other treasures from The Huntington’s Southern California Architecture Collection. You’ll learn about The Huntington’s world class collection of material illuminating Los Angeles’ architectural history, and about how the works were chosen and prepared for the show.

Learn more about the exhibition here.

The Huntington is famous for its archives, rare books and fine art collections, but it is also among the world’s great gardens. We’ll end the day with a special tour of the century-old Japanese Garden led by Andrew Mitchell, Gardens Curator of Material Objects. He’ll discuss the history of this celebrated space, and the ongoing work to maintain the traditional buildings, fences, paths and plantings of this little piece of old Japan in the heart of San Marino. Andrew’s insights into the philosophy behind his work will forever change the way you see the garden.

Learn more about the Japanese Garden here.

Information about this bus tour

Tour runs from 10:30am to 5pm (6 1/2 hours).

There are no paper tickets: your name will be on a list. Check in is at 10am at the Arrival Court near the ticket booths for a 10:30 am sharp departure from the Huntington.

Food and (non-alcoholic) drink are permitted and suggested; no audio or video-taping without permission. We regret that there are no refunds for passengers who miss the bus.

Parking is on a first come, first served basis at the Huntington. Please arrive promptly by 10 am and head directly to Arrival Court, where you will find Kim at the check in table. The Red Car coffee shop will be open for beverages and snacks. The bus departs at 10:30 am sharp, so it will be a quick check in and boarding process. We encourage passengers to carpool or use ride services whenever possible. Please contact us with any questions.

Food & Drink: We’ll be serving birthday cake & coffee upon our return to the Huntington and before the walk through of Erin Chase’s exhibition. Then you’ll have time to eat lunch, if you haven’t already done so on the bus. If you’d like to have time for a quick self-directed stroll in the gardens, we recommend that you bring a packed lunch. If you prefer to purchase food at the Huntington, you can find simple grab’n’go items at The Red Car coffee shop (menu) or a wide range of dishes at 1919 café (menu).

This is a Special Event Tour, and no discount coupons will be accepted.

Need to reach us on tour day? Please phone Richard at 213-915-8687 after 8am.