Norton Simon Museum

Located just about one mile from Lincoln Motel Pasadena, the Norton Simon Museum features a collection of European paintings and sculptures ranging from the 14th to the 20th Century. The collections include European paintings, sculptures, and tapestries, Asian sculptures, paintings, and woodblock prints, as well as a sculpture garden that showcases a landscape setting around a large pond. Guests are also invited to experience the Norton Simon Theater, which showcases a variety of daily film programs and hosts seminars, lectures, symposiums, as well as musical and dance performances. Norton Simon Museum was originally called the Pasadena Art Institute and the Pasadena Art Museum, which opened in 1953.

Pasadena Museum of California Art

PMCA showcases art and design that comes originally from California. Founded by long-time Pasadena residents and big-time art collectors Robert and Arlene Oltman. The museum officially opened in 2002, and it does not house a permanent collection but instead features a rotation of changing exhibits. Some of the more notable exhibits at the Pasadena Museum of California Art included: Maynard Dixon: Masterpieces from the Brigham Young University and Private Collections, the largest exhibition of Dixon's art to date; Wayne Thiebaud: 70 Years of Painting, a retrospective survey; Data + Art: Science and Art in the Age of Information, organized in conjunction with Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and a mid-career retrospective of painter Mark Ryden. Located only a mile from Lincoln Motel Pasadena , PMCA is open Wednesday through Sunday, 12 pm to 5 pm and the third Thursday of each month from 5 pm to 8 pm.

Kidspace Children’s Museum

Located next to the Rose Bowl inside the former Fanny Morrison Horticultural Center, the Kidspace Children’s Museum provides kids with a public space for creative and interactive learning. The museum originally opened in 1979 and was located at Caltech. Kidspace is perfect for children from 2 to 10 years old and features exhibits, programs and activities that encourage a child’s growth and development through explorations of the environment, investigations in science, and artistic forms of expression. Kidspace is located only two miles away from Lincoln Motel Pasadena.

The Gamble House

Located less than two miles from Lincoln Motel Pasadena, the Gamble House is a National Historic Landmark and is a perfect example of American Arts and Crafts style architecture. Operated by USC, the Gamble House is open to public and private tours. Docent-led tours are available to the public between Thursday and Sunday, and there are a variety of different tours to choose from. Constructed in 1908, the Gamble House sits on three acres and was featured as Doc Brown’s house in the popular “Back to the Future” trilogy.

Pasadena Playhouse

Just a mile from Lincoln Motel Pasadena, the Pasadena Playhouse is a 686-seat auditorium and historic performing arts venue. Showcasing a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engagements each year, the Pasadena Playhouse began in 1912 and has been at the same 39 South El Molino Avenue location since 1925 and was established as an accredited school of theater arts. Such notables as Raymond Burr, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Gene Hackman, and Dustin Hoffman attended the school. With a long and storied history, the Pasadena Playhouse was also one of the first companies in California to experiment with new theatrical forms such as theater-in-the-round, and built and operated one of the first TV stations in Southern California.