There are many hidden away places to visit in Los Angeles that you may only hear about if you watch old episodes of Huell Howser on TV. The Nethercutt Collection in Sylmar is one of them.
It is a tall, windowless building, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, that is part of the Merle Norman Cosmetic factory. The building and museum across the street hold an exquisite collection of over 250 vintage cars.
Find more things to do and where to stay near Sylmar, here.
The founders
J.B. Nethercutt and his wife Dorothy founded the Nethercutt Collection in 1971. J.B. was the nephew of Merle Norman, the namesake of Merle Norman Cosmetics. He moved in with her in the 1920s after his mother died and helped her co-found her cosmetics empire. J.B. and Dorothy passed away in 2004 in their 90’s within weeks of each other. Their son Jack now runs the cosmetic empire and the collection.
Vintage cars beyond compare
J.B. loved collecting vintage cars, which he meticulously restored and won numerous “best in show” prizes at the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. The Nethercutt Collection’s main building, also known as San Sylmar, displays the best of them in its Grand and Lower Salons.
The car collection beats any car museum I’ve ever seen because each car is so finely restored they’re like works of art. They are kept in perfect running condition, gassed up, and driven regularly. Some have been seen in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena.
If you walk up the stairs to the mezzanine, you’ll find ornate vintage furniture, watches, hood ornaments, and other objet d’art.
Stairway to the Stars
Many Los Angelenos are unaware of the free theatre organ concerts that are held at San Sylmar several times a year. I was never an organ aficionado but was introduced to the concerts over 20 years ago. I soon began to appreciate the beautiful sounds that are created by those spectacular instruments.
Climb another flight to the Cloud 99 music room. You will enter the music room and home of the Mighty Wurlitzer Theatre organ, turn of the century orchestrions, nickelodeons, music boxes, grand pianos, and other rare items. World-class organists, pianists, and other performers have entertained audiences in the music room for decades.
During the holidays, the music room is fancifully decorated for Christmas. We visited in October to see a silent movie and it was decked out for Halloween. I loved the spooky organ pipes.
Kyle Irwin is the current tour guide at San Sylmar and is also in charge of maintaining all the musical instruments. He’s a fun guy who always makes sure to demonstrate some of the Collection’s vintage orchestrions before each concert starts and during intermission.
Orchestrions are like player pianos in that they play automatically. They can produce the sounds of an entire orchestra. Like Nickelodeons, they were early jukeboxes. The orchestrions displayed at the Nethercutt Collection were found in a warehouse in Europe hidden away until after WWII. J.B. bought all of them and had them beautifully restored.
The Nethercutt Collection’s mighty Wurlitzer theatre organ is one of the largest in the world. It has 5,000 pipes and a 77 rank. It originally sat at the Denver Civic Auditorium. It was destroyed over the years by earthquakes but each time it was fixed more features were added.
The concert series includes silent movies as part of its yearly program and they’re always fun.
They are projected with a circa 1909 hand-crank Powers Camergraph. The films are accompanied by an expert organist.
The Nethercutt Collection Public Car Museum
Across the street from San Sylmar is the Nethercutt Collection’s public car museum. It houses over 130 vintage cars. (circa 1890 – 1970) Adjacent is a 1937 Canadian Pacific Royal Hudson locomotive and a 1912-era private Pullman car once owned by Clara Baldwin Stocker. She was the daughter of Lucky Baldwin, who was a wealthy Pasadena pioneer.
Tours of San Sylmar and the concerts are free with a reservation. There are specific call-in times for free concerts and they sell out almost immediately. The Nethercutt Collection is one of the most unique “word of mouth” attractions in Los Angeles and they never advertise.
The tours take place Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays at 10 am and 1:30 pm with a reservation. The car museum is open to the public Tuesday – Saturday 9 am – 4:30 pm.
The Nethercutt Collection:
15200 Bledsoe Street Sylmar, CA 91342
(818) 364-6464
(818) 364-6466 (fax)
info@nethercuttcollection.org
Visit the Collection’s website here.
I pinned your post on my Travel Board on Pinterest. What a fabulous place to visit! I’ve never heard of it before, but will certainly put it on my “Places to See” list, now! Note to self: google location of Sylmar, CA!
Thanks so much Susan. It’s an amazing place. Sylmar is just over the hill from the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles. The Nethercutt is located at the Merle Norman factory there. They even have one of their cosmetic salons right next to it.
What an incredible place! I’ve seen a few large organs in my life but nothing like that. Thanks for sharing!
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Thanks Barbara – It’s an amazing organ and is so well maintained. It always sounds incredible. We love the concerts at the Nethercutt.
What a fun and retro way to have a great outing! Love this idea so much.
Thanks Carol, It’s always lots of fun and we’ve been going there for years.
Looks like quite an amazing experience!
Thanks Sheryl. It’s a treat to visit if you’re in L A.
Wish I lived nearby. I’d go with you! Brenda
If you’re ever in town it’s a cool place to visit and free.
I thought this was going to be all about vintage cars (which my dad loved and restored) but those other pictures and THAT pipe organ were amazing too!
Weird that keeps happening to you. I’ll try to fix it.
They have some amazing vintage cars and I know your dad would love it. Fixed this comment. Don’t know why this keeps happening. Maybe it’s an Australia thing.
Wow, there is so much history there! Your photos are gorgeous and, even though I’ve never heard of it before, I really want to visit now!
It’s definitely a word of mouth kind of place. It was featured on Huell Howser a few times.
Oh my gosh! I hope that if I ever go to LA, I remember to visit this place, it sounds great!
I hope you get to come here some day. There’s so much to do in Los Angeles.