Los Angeles

Contrary to popular belief, Los Angeles is one of the most cultured cities in the US and the world. Los Angeles is a major center for film, television, and recorded music. In fact according to the USC Stevens Institute for Innovation, there are more "artists, writers, filmmakers, actors, dancers and musicians living and working in Los Angeles than any other city at any time in the history of civilization. There are more than 1,100 annual theatrical productions and 21 openings every week." Los Angeles has the third largest performing arts center in the nation, only behind New York City and Denver. It houses one of the finest orchestras in the world, Los Angeles Philharmonic. It also has houses the Los Angeles Opera, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, and the Center Theater Group. It also has an amazing contemporary art scence, said to be the best in the world by many top artists. Its premier contemporary art museum MOCA has in a short period of time, amassed one of the finest permanent collections in the country with over 5,000 works or art. In addition, dozens of art galleries have opened up in Downtown and Culver City over the past few years, making Los Angeles a hot city for contemporary art. Just down the street from the Los Angeles Music Center is the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, the third largest cathedral in the world. Lastly, according to the USC Stevens Institute for Innovation, Los Angeles "boasts the most museums of any city. There are also numerous art galleries and music, dance, theatre, and film offerings." Los Angeles has some fine museums and cultural institutions like Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), which is the largest encyclopedic musueum west of Chicago, the J. Paul Getty Trust foundation which is the wealthiest art instituion in the country with an endowment of $5.8 billion. It operates the Getty Center, the Getty Villa, the Getty Foundation, the Getty Research Institute, and the Getty Conservation Institute. Also, there's the Griffith Park Observatory, a world leader in astronomy, the Hammer Museum, the Museum of Tolerance, the Japanese American Museum, the Museum of the American West, the Skirball Cultural Center and Museum, etc.