Towering castle-like above the freeway from a slope of Mt. Washington, the Mission Revival building (1914) houses Los Angeles' oldest museum, dedicated to comprehensive collections and research facilities on Native American cultures. The formation of the museum was spearheaded in 1907 by Los Angeles Times city editor and noted local historian, preservationist and archaeologist Charles Fletcher Lummis (1859-1928), in concert with fellow members of the Southwest Society, a local branch of the Archaeological Institute of America, so that indigenous peoples would be better understood by the general public. Since then the collection has grown to about 500,000 objects, including 12,000 baskets and many sculptures and ceremonial garments, only about 2 percent were on view at one time at its current site.