The Making of a Museum: From a Closet Collection to an Accredited Museum tells the story of the Hermosa Beach Museum’s evolution from a small collection of locally saved objects into an accredited museum dedicated to preserving and interpreting the community’s history. The exhibit begins before there was a museum, exploring the city records, photographs, and private collections that preserved fragments of Hermosa’s past. Visitors will discover the story of the Hermosa Beach Historical Society’s founding in 1987, the early collections, and the transformation of the Museum into the space that opened in 2007. Through objects, documents, photographs, and behind-the-scenes stories, including objects rescued from disappearing local businesses, the exhibit reveals how generations of residents, volunteers, and collectors determined what pieces of Hermosa’s history were important enough to save.

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But every collection also tells a story through what is missing. The Making of a Museum takes an honest look at the communities, industries, cultures, and everyday experiences that have been underrepresented or overlooked in the Museum’s collection, from Japanese American and Mexican immigrant experiences to local labor, industry, and the community’s earliest history. It also explores the challenges of preserving objects without adequate documentation or provenance. Finally, the exhibit brings the story into the present, showing how the Museum is using professional collecting practices, digitization, improved collections management, and American Alliance of Museums accreditation to address gaps and build a stronger foundation for the future. At its heart, the exhibit asks visitors to consider not only what we saved and what we missed, but what we choose to save next.