Updated: 3/14/2012 
Little Hollywood Museum
Kanab, Utah
Description

This is the only place where you can walk in movie sets that inspired director William Wegman to call this area Little Hollywood because it's home to more westerns than anywhere outside of California.

Our sets are always available. They're a fun and immersive experience where touching is actually encouraged.

Many of the old western sets used in the Little Hollywood movies have been lovingly preserved in our free museum. The museum is located in a grove of lush cottonwood trees directly behind our fully stocked Native American and "made in USA" gift shop.​ You are sure to enjoy the immersive experience of our comprehensive museum. As you walk through the movie sets, you will appreciate the fabulous illusions the film makers brought to the silver screen.

History

Little Hollywood Movie Museum became a recognized non profit in the fall of 2009. We are a certified Utah Museum. The facility has been around since 1988. The museum is an outdoor tour of movie sets with memorabilia and photographs both in the sets and in the dining rooms.

Kanab made its screen debut in 1924 when Tom Mix filmed "Deadwood Coach" along with his co-star, Tony The Wonder Horse. Since then over a hundred Hollywood productions have taken advantage of the diverse and spectacular landscapes that make Southern Utah one of the most stunning places on Earth.

Credit for interest in Southern Utah as a Hollywood back lot goes to the Parry Brothers who leveraged their guiding business at Zion National Park into a virtual Hollywood production machine by luring influential filmmakers to the area. Cecile B DeMille raised the profile of this location when he made "Union Pacific" here. John Ford's "Drums Along the Mohawk" proved that Kane County could stand in not only for iconic western landscapes but also as rugged eastern forest land.

Even as the golden era of westerns rode off into the sunset, the tradition of hospitality was carried on by local promoters like Dennis Judd who scoured the area on behalf of Hollywood location scouts in search of unique scenery while cultivating friendships with important filmmakers. Dennis worked with his Hollywood pals to create the "How The West Was Lost" skit that is now regularly performed on the Little Hollywood Movie Museum back lot behind Frontier Movie Town.

Movie producers continue to find cinematic gold in the surrounding hills including Clint Eastwood's "The Outlaw Josey Wales" which used Kane County locations to stand in for locations ranging from Mexican badlands to Texas river bottoms. Most recently, the Disney Pixar collaboration of the Edgar Rice Burroughs novel, "John Carter of Mars", came to town, building a fantastical Martial city near Big Water and the relic of a western town near Mount Carmel.

The tradition continues even as filming is now a smaller part of what remains a beautiful and diverse landscape.

Artifact Collections

We have a collection of movie sets and props from movies shot in the area during the time when hundreds of westerns were shot in the area.

Movie Sets
Props
Memorabilia
Programs

The museum offers docent tours by appointment to groups and school classes.

Facilities
Performance Areas
Library

Access: General Public, Students, Scholars

Appointment required: False

Services
Gift Shop

Eclectic gift shop selling iconic memories of the mythical American West.

We proudly carry a wide selection of the highest quality Native American and US made products from well-known and trusted brands. If you have any questions regarding our products or would like more information, please contact us.

Visit our website and print your 10% off coupon and bring it with you for gift shop purchases.

Banquest facility with meals for groups by appointment.

Gift Shop
Restaurant
Group Tours
Hours of Operation
March - November
Daily9 AM - 9 PM
Wwinter hours

Call 435-644-5337 or visit website

Admission

Free. Donations Accepted.

Museum Type(s)
DISCLAIMER
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MUSEUM CONFERENCES

April 27 - April 29, 2025

Oregon Museum Association 2025 Conference

TBA

Independence, Oregon

Beginning in 2025, the OMA annual conference will be held in Spring rather than Fall

The conference this year is all about trying new things. We are hoping to organize the conference into the following four tracks: Collections Care, Leadership, Emergency Preparedness, and Tourism

Check our website for more details in early 2025

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For more information, please email connect@oregonmuseums.org.

October 1 - October 4, 2025

Western Museums Association’s (WMA) 2025 Annual Meeting

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Reno, Nevada

Save the Date for WMA 202

As we celebrate our 90th anniversary, join us to build relationships and soar higher than ever before. With the theme of ELEVATE, WMA 2025 will explore ways to lift up the experiences of cultural professionals and the communities they serve.

In Reno, Nevada, 4,400 feet above sea level, we will forward the progress of museums by looking to the future.

May 6 - May 9, 2025

2025 American Alliance of Museums (AAM) ANNUAL MEETING & MUSEUMEXPO

Los Angeles Convention Center

Los Angeles, California

AAM 2025 will focus on the theme, Museums & Trust.

Museums have long inspired high levels of public trust, surpassing news outlets, government organizations, researchers and scientists, corporations, and social media platforms. This consistent finding underscores our institutions’ unique position in society as stewards of knowledge, culture, science, and history—areas where credibility and reliability are paramount

In an era marked by mistrust and misinformation, museums have a rare ability to counterbalance the proliferation of false narratives and polarized perspectives. Using our trusted position, we can cultivate a more healthy, empathetic, and informed society.

But to do so, we must maintain our credibility proactively, embracing thoughtful, transparent, and collaborative practices that will defend against influences like bias, resource challenges, abuse of power, and social injustice

An Incredible MuseumExpo

AAM is again partnering this year with the Museum Store Association to host an incredible combined expo hall. Find the most innovative services, products, and solutions in the museum field. With 350 exhibitors, you are bound to find the right partner for your museum’s current challenges and opportunities.

May 5 - May 9, 2025

Museum Store Association FORWARD 2025 in LA

The Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles, California

Join MSA in LA

We’re excited about our next MSA FORWARD Conference & Expo in “The City of Angels” – Los Angeles, California in conjunction with the American Alliance of Museums

Join the Museum Store Association (MSA) and hundreds of nonprofit retail professionals for the 70th Annual MSA FORWARD Retail Conference & Expo, taking place May 5-9, 2025 at The Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California

Once again, MSA FORWARD will be held in conjunction with the 2025 American Alliance of Museums (AAM) Annual Meeting & Expo

Learn best practices and new ideas for store merchandising, operations, marketing, and sale

Participate in dedicated networking events and create connections that will inspire new ideas

Meet with over 200 MSA vendors about your product needs

Hear from knowledgeable industry experts during session breakouts and keynote presentations

Network with AAM attendees and exhibitor

September 10 - September 13, 2025

2025 Am Assoc for State and Local History Annual Conference

TBD

Cincinnati, Ohio

The 2025 AASLH Annual Conference, in partnership with Ohio Local History Alliance, will take place as the history field makes the final preparations to kickoff off the 250th commemoration of the founding of the United States.

The 2025 conference theme, inspired by AASLH’s Making History at 250: The Field Guide for Semiquincentennial, is an opportunity to broadly explore one of the guide’s themes, The American Experiment. For many in the American colonies in 1776, independence from Britain represented a “leap into the dark” into an unknown future

We are excited for you to join us in Cincinnati as we encourage discussion about our democracy and civic institutions and how they can help strengthen understanding, inspire action, and reveal ways that all of us can participate in and shape the ongoing American experiment.

For more information, please call 615-320-3203 or email info@aaslh.org.

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