Friends of Southwest Museum rally for extended museum hours

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Dozens of members of the Friends of the Southwest Museum Coalition rallied this morning, saying the Autry National Center has too much control over the Southwest Museum, which merged with Autry in 2003.

The Southwest Musuem contains art and artifact collections from the earliest history of Los Angeles.

Friends of the Southwest Museum say the Autry has spent over 10 million dollars of taxpayer money but only keeps the museum open for six hours on Saturdays.

CEO W.Richard West Jr. of the Autry National Center released a statement in response, claiming that the Autry's top priority has been to properly care for and maintain the Southwest Museum's collections after decades of neglect.

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