Southwest Museum and entrance tunnel

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The Mayan entrance tunnel is visible on the hill below the Southwest museum. Two rectangular pilasters carry an entablature incised with six small square panels representing Mayan deities above double doors surrounded by bas-relief.Charles F. Lummis founded the Southwest Museum in 1907. The collections were housed in two temporary spaces until 1914 when the architectural firm of Hunt and Burns completed the Spanish Colonial Revival style Southwest Museum building located at 234 Museum Drive in Highland Park. In 1920, the same firm designed a Mayan Revival style entry tunnel from Museum Drive. The museum was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. In 2003 the Autry Museum of Western Heritage merged with the Southwest Museum creating the Autry National Center. The landmark closed in 2006 for rehabilitation and reopened in 2012.