Visiting The Center For Land Use Interpretation

Every time I hear that phrase I think of the awesome Dolly Parton song. “Two doors down they’re laughin’ and drinkin’ and having a party…” Oh how I love Dolly.

Anywho….so last week I mentioned a second interesting museum I found after mjury visit to the Museum of Jurassic Technology. Well, it so happens to be The Center For Land Use Interpretation and, yes, it is two doors down from the ole Jurassic.

Now remember when I mentioned that the Museum of Jurassic Technology looked closed but when I opened the door there were a bunch of people inside? Well, this placed looked closed too (though the sign said otherwise) and when I opened the door…there was not a soul inside. Not even an employee. But the light’s were on and there was a friendly cat to greet me so I proceeded to explore.

It’s a very small space so there’s only room for one exhibit. Currently running is “Initial Points: Anchors of America’s Grids.”

So, I suppose I should backtrack a bit. What is The Center For Land Use Interpretation? Well, according to the their mission statement they are “dedicated to the increase and diffusion of information about how the nation’s lands are apportioned, utilized and perceived.” Since the center is all about the land, this particular exhibit dealt with the subject of surveying. Not the most exciting subject matter but worth a look around this small space.

And they had one thing that I absolutely loved (beside the cat which was so cute!). They had a rack of vintage postcards for sale. These postcards were never used but were about 50 years old. They were manufactured by Royal Pictures which was pretty much a one man operation. Merle Porter, the proprietor, would travel around the West taking photos and then creating postcards out of them. This rack was filled with some of his pieces. I couldn’t resist purchasing a couple ($1 each).

CLUI
The Salton Sea before it became a ghost town
LA Explorer CLUI
A restaurant called Victor Hugos in Laguna Beach

Now the postcards don’t have those yellow dots all over them; it’s an unfortunate side effect of the scanning. I love vintage postcards and this was a real find. I had such a hard time deciding which ones to pick, luckily I was low on cash or else I might have bought the whole rack!

The Center For Land Use Interpretation
9331 Venice Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232
open 12-5 Friday, Saturday, Sunday
admission free! (donations are accepted)

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