This museum, housed in a contemporary Mission Revival-style building (1988), is dedicated to preserving and presenting the history of the American West, with a growing collection that numbers more than 41,000 artifacts. Construction and the initial collection were financed and donated by the Autry Foundation, established by film star Gene Autry (1907-1998), affectionately known as The Singing Cowboy.Seven spacious, permanent galleries on the museum's main and lower levels present the collection thematically and in roughly chronological order, starting with the Spirit of Discovery, which highlights exploration-including North America's earliest nomadic hunters, 16C Spanish voyagers and 18C Franciscan missionaries-and ending with the Spirit of Imagination, which traces the portrayal of the West in film, radio and television. Items on display include a diagram drawn by Wyatt Earp of the so-called 1881 Gunfight at the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona; personal firearms and other artifacts of such famous figures as Earp, Billy the Kid, Black Bart and Belle Starr; and the Colt Gallery of more than 200 firearms. Annie Oakley's double-barrel shotgun is among the artifacts of famous Western performers.