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Photo: THE CENTER FOR LAND USE INTERPRETATION, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
A unique organization, the CLUI is devoted to researching and illustrating how land is used and perceived. The exhibits hosted in their minuscule gallery space are small, but are usually very intriguing and often draw attention to features of the landscape you would normally overlook. The tiny bookstore (more of a bookshelf, really) is a real treat, selling some excellent texts as well as humorous postcards.
The Center for Land Use Interpretation (CLUI) is a non-profit research and education organization involved in exploring, examining, and understanding contemporary landscape issues in the United States. Founded in 1994, the CLUI organizes exhibitions, programs, field trips, and maintains an online archive and database to engage the public's understanding of the man-made landscape, and extent and impacts of human interactions with the surface of the Earth. The Center employs a variety of methods to this end, engaging in research, classification, extrapolation, and exhibition.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
This museum is a truly unique experience, as it is an artistic mixture of fact and fiction, featuring weird and wonderful displays of things that never happened, next to strange but true practices of bygone years; it can be hard to distinguish between the two, and it's best not to try. Exhibits include micro-sculptures that fit within the eye of a needle, portraits of the canine astronauts of the early Soviet space program, and artwork made from the scales of butterfly wings that can be viewed under microscopes. An enjoyable afternoon's visit and a tribute to the weirdness of the world. The Tula Tea Room is located upstairs and serves complimentary tea and cookies, while the Borzoi Kabinet Theater has free movie screenings hourly; both open one hour after the museum, closing one hour before the museum. Photography and cell phone use (including texting and pictures) is not allowed in the museum. This attraction is actually in the Palms district of Los Angeles, although it has a Culver City address.
Held every Tuesday, rain or shine. The market offers fresh foods, flowers, crafts, and other fare. Two hours of free parking are available in downtown garages. When you walk across the alley, you are actually moving from Los Angeles to Culver City (or vice versa).
Jim Heimann's sculpture "Plato's Cup" (1995) is a riff on a weathervane, which pays homage to the film industry, a former cafe at the location, and the initials of the building's owner.
Jim Heimann's sculptures "Studio Pass I", "Studio Pass II", and "King Kong Gone" (1995-6), celebrate the history of Culver Studios and Sony Pictures
Located in downtown Culver City, Culver Studios was founded in 1919. Fans of classic motion pictures will immediately recognize the studio's colonial mansion from the opening credits of the David O. Selznick International productions such as Gone With the Wind and Duel in the Sun. Unfortunately public tours are not available.
This car show features hundreds of classic cars, food, and entertainment, with proceeds benefiting local charities. The streets of downtown are closed and filled with stalls and classic cars, with owners competing for awards in dozens of categories such as "Best of the 20s", "Best of the 70s", "Best Paint", "Most Different", "Best Hearse", etc. The first car show was held in 2005, and it has since become a yearly event.