Oddities Museum Near Me in Glendale: Museum of Neon Art's Glowing Signs

The Museum of Neon Art opens only four days a week, Thursday through Sunday, at 216 S. Brand Blvd in Glendale, and general admission is $10 at the front desk. Inside are rescued commercial signs from the 1920s onward and neon fine art from the 1970s to now, plus a glass shop where craftspeople bend tubes in front of visitors. For an oddities museum near me in Los Angeles County, few rooms glow quite like this one.

MONA describes itself as anchoring the southern end of Glendale's Arts and Entertainment Corridor on Brand Boulevard. The closest parking is a public structure at 120 Artsakh Avenue with 90 minutes free, which covers most visits. Street parking on Brand in front of the museum costs $2 per hour at the pay station. A paseo beside the building leads toward Central Park and the Central Library.

Artists Lili Lakich and Richard Jenkins founded MONA in 1981 in downtown Los Angeles as a nonprofit art museum. It moved several times, to Universal CityWalk, to Grand Hope Park and to the Historic Core, before settling permanently in Glendale. The Los Angeles Conservancy dates that move to 2016, when the museum found its home on Brand Boulevard after more than three decades of moving.

The building itself has a past. Wikipedia notes that Shimoda Design Group adapted two existing structures for the museum: a former pharmacy and a former video arcade. It is a fitting shell for a collection of commercial signs, since both businesses once relied on bright fronts to pull people in from the sidewalk. The result is a long, dark gallery that lets every tube read clearly.

The permanent collection runs from historic signage of the 1920s to the present. According to the Los Angeles Conservancy, MONA has saved and restored more than 500 historic signs and helped relight more than 150 signs across Los Angeles. Among its acquisitions is the sign from Circus of Books, the West Hollywood bookstore whose closing became the subject of a documentary.

The fine art side covers work from the 1970s on, including pieces by Michael Flechtner, Roxy Rose Score, Dani Bonnet, Lauren Griffin, Larry Albright and Wayne Strattman. Albright's name may be the oddest connection here: the museum credits him with pioneering work in developing and patenting the plasma globe, the glowing desk toy that still turns up in science classrooms and gift shops.

October is a transition month. Michael Flechtner: Ecce Artifex closed on September 20, 2026, and the museum's exhibitions page lists Selections From the Permanent Collection as the ongoing show. The next major exhibition, Wonder Lanes: The Signs and Style of Midcentury Bowling, opens in November 2026, with neon signage, vintage bowling shirts, matchbooks, menus and postcards from five lost lanes of Southern California.

MONA has a classroom on the premises where visitors can watch skilled neon craftspeople at work. The museum also sells hands-on sessions: its online store lists an Open Studio with Joanne on October 16, 2026 for $125, and a One-Day Neon Art Immersive on October 25, 2026 for $325. The Los Angeles Conservancy notes that neon making is on the Heritage Crafts Red List of Endangered Crafts.

General admission is $10. Seniors 65 and over pay $8, Glendale residents with ID pay $5, and EBT cardholders pay $3. Children 12 and under enter free with an adult, as do veterans with ID and MONA members. Tickets are sold at the front desk on the day of your visit, and the museum says buying in person is recommended over its gift certificates.

MONA opens Thursday, Friday and Saturday from noon to 7pm and Sunday from noon to 5pm, and it is closed Monday through Wednesday. It also closes on most major holidays, including Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. A Friday or Saturday visit near closing gives the darkest street outside, which makes the signs in the front windows stand out.

The museum is wheelchair accessible and has a gender-neutral restroom. Blind and low-vision visitors can use visual descriptions of the collection on the Bloomberg Connects app. Groups of ten or more can request a docent at least two weeks in advance. The museum is also known for its Neon Cruise, a bus tour of illuminated signs that it runs as private bookings.

MONA works for people who would not call themselves museum fans, because the pieces are bright, large and quick to read, and the history comes through the signs themselves rather than long wall texts. Photographers will want the darker corners where tubes reflect on the floor. Families do well too, with free entry for children 12 and under accompanied by an adult and a gallery loop short enough to hold attention.

Skip it if you are after macabre curiosities; MONA's oddities are cheerful ones, from bowling-alley arrows to motel signs. Go if you like seeing how Los Angeles sold itself at night. In October, with only the permanent collection on view, the visit is shorter than usual, so pair it with one of the paid studio sessions or wait for Wonder Lanes in November.

Walk the paseo to the Glendale Central Library at 222 East Harvard Street, open Monday to Thursday from 10am to 8pm and Friday and Saturday from 10am to 5pm, home to the ReflectSpace gallery. For dinner or shopping, The Americana at Brand at 889 Americana Way is a few blocks north, open until 9pm Monday to Thursday and 10pm on Friday and Saturday.

Address: 216 S. Brand Blvd, Glendale, CA 91204. Hours: Thursday to Saturday noon to 7pm, Sunday noon to 5pm, closed Monday to Wednesday and major holidays. Admission: $10 general, $8 seniors, $5 Glendale residents, $3 EBT, free for children 12 and under with an adult and for veterans. Parking: 120 Artsakh Avenue structure, 90 minutes free.