$10 Museum Admission, Then a Bakery Run
Historic neon signs and contemporary light-based artworks on South Brand, then half a mile north for warm Cuban pastries. A Thursday-to-Sunday plan for anyone who wants an afternoon that costs less than twenty dollars.
Museum of Neon Art to Porto's, on Brand
🔮 Where the old Los Angeles signs live
Start at 216 South Brand Boulevard, where three small rooms hold historic neon signs alongside contemporary light-based artworks. General adult admission is ten dollars, seniors 65 and over pay eight dollars, Glendale residents enter for five dollars with ID, and children twelve and under enter free with an adult, which puts a family of four at twenty dollars. Thursday through Saturday the doors stay open from 12:00 PM to 7:00 PM, Sunday from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM, and the galleries go dark Monday through Wednesday. The garage at 120 Artsakh Avenue gives the first ninety minutes free.
🥔 A bakery counter two dollars at a time
Walk north on Brand Boulevard for about a 15-minute walk, a little over half a mile, to 315 North Brand. Porto's began with Rosa Porto selling cakes from her own kitchen, and the line at this corner still runs deep. Potato balls cost around $2 each, depending on the item, cheese rolls about the same, and the counter moves faster than the queue outside suggests. Dine in daily from 6:30 AM to 8:30 PM. Order online before the 6:00 PM cutoff and collect at the preorder counter from 7:00 AM to 7:30 PM.
🚶 One street, two stops, no car
Two stops, one street, no car needed. Take the museum in the afternoon, work through the galleries while there is still daylight outside, then walk north for about 15 minutes as the street signs take over and the rooftop diver starts to glow above the sidewalk. On Thursday and Friday, MONA stays open until 7:00 PM while Porto's remains open until 8:30 PM; Saturday has the same MONA hours, and on Sunday MONA ends earlier at 5:00 PM, though Porto's still serves until 8:30 PM. Museum entry is ten dollars for general adult admission (with $8 for seniors, $5 for Glendale residents, and free admission for kids 12 and under) or twenty for a family of four, and a bag of pastries adds a few dollars.
