Shriners announce new museum at Los Angeles Shrine Auditorium

The Al Malaikah Shriners have unveiled plans for a new Shriners Museum at the historic Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, with an opening phase focused on preserving Southern California history and expanding student internships through USC Dornsife Career Pathways. The museum is set to combine archives, oral history, exhibitions and digital programming around the Shriners’ legacy and Shriners Children’s philanthropy.

Why it matters: - The Shriners Museum is designed to preserve a century-plus of Southern California philanthropy, care and civic history in one public-facing institution. - The project also creates a pipeline for USC students to gain hands-on experience in archives, exhibitions, communications and digital media. - The museum aims to connect the legacy of Shriners Children’s with new audiences through education and storytelling.

What happened: - The Al Malaikah Shriners announced the Shriners Museum on Aug. 25, 2026, in Los Angeles. - The museum will be housed on the third floor of the historic Shrine Auditorium at 665 West Jefferson Boulevard. - Adelheid Waumboldt of ISET Agency was selected as museum director. - USC Dornsife Career Pathways is working with the museum to create internship opportunities for students. - An open house for interested USC students and faculty is scheduled for Sept. 2, 2026, at 4 p.m. PT. - Registration is available at ShrinersMuseum.org.

The details: - The museum will focus on the history of the Shriners and Shriners Children’s in Southern California. - Planned content includes exhibitions, archival research, oral histories, educational programs and digital experiences. - The museum will cover the development of the Shriners, member traditions, the history of the Al Malaikah Shriners, the Shrine Auditorium and the mission that became Shriners Children’s. - The Shrine Auditorium opened in 1926, was billed as the largest theater in the world at the time, and now seats more than 6,300. - Raffi Barsamian, Past Potentate and current Recorder/Chief of Staff of the Al Malaikah Shriners, said the museum is meant to preserve more than objects and dates and to highlight the human impact of the organization’s service. - USC students may participate through courses such as MDA 250: Internship for the Liberal Arts. - Student work may include historical research, cataloging, archival work, exhibition planning, architectural design, communications, digital media and educational programming. - Interns will work under Shriners with expertise relevant to their assigned areas.

Between the lines: - The museum is being developed not just as a heritage project, but as a living educational platform. - The USC partnership gives the project an academic and professional-training dimension that could broaden its reach beyond traditional museum visitors. - The collaboration also reflects long-running ties between USC and the Shriners in Los Angeles, including the Shrine Auditorium’s proximity to USC’s University Park Campus and past USC uses of the venue. - In 2008, USC students from occupational therapy, pharmacy, public health, biochemistry, medicine and physical therapy supported young patients at the former Shriners hospital in Los Angeles. - The museum’s narrative will also highlight community-led fundraising and care networks, not just institutional milestones.

What's next: - The museum remains in development, with more details on collections, student projects, exhibitions and public programming expected later. - The USC open house on Sept. 2 is the next public-facing step in building student involvement. - Future programming will likely expand as the museum moves from planning into curation and production.

The bottom line: - The Shriners Museum is being built as both a preservation project and a student-learning hub, anchored in one of Los Angeles’ most recognizable historic buildings.