The museum opened in 2016 and has presented historical exhibits on Italians in Los Angeles, including Sunshine and Struggle, and a variety of educational and cultural events.

The Museum is funded by the Historic Italian Hall Foundation, a non-profit organization incorporated in 1993, the City of Los Angeles and hundreds of donors.

The IAMLA's award-winning permanent exhibition explores the history of Italian Americans in the United States and is also presented online via the Google Cultural Institute.

[5] The Sicilian Cart: History in Movement, the result of a collaboration between the IAMLA, the MUSCA Museum of Sicily, and Dolce & Gabbana; Italianità: Artists of the Italian Diaspora Examine Identity, which featured a century of work from renowned artists such as Joseph Stella; Leo Politi's Los Angeles: Works of Love and Protest, an exhibition of work by the Caldecott Award-winning author and illustrator; Fantasy World: Italian Americans in Animation; and St. Joseph's Tables: Expressions of Devotion, Charity, and Abundance.

A Real Boy: the Many Lives of Pinocchio (on view until October 2023) explores the cultural origins, adaptations, and enduring appeal of one of the most popular characters in children's literature.