In Praise of...Museums

[dudog84]

In reading some of the recent diversions on the Midway thread, I thought we could use a thread for museums. Many (most?) of us around here have a certain nerd quotient , so I thought it might be of value. I searched back several years and couldn't find a similar thread.

Of course all posts are welcome, but we all know about The Smithsonian, MOMA, etc. I'm thinking more about small, even quirky museums that you have encountered in your travels (or hometown) that would be overlooked by many. Or a museum that you've heard about that you would like to visit so you can throw it up here and see if anyone has a review. Museums are great for a day trip.

On the first count, I recommend the Cici and Hyatt Brown Museum of Art in Daytona Beach, home to the largest collection of Florida Art in the world.

On the second count, I want to someday get to the Ty Cobb Museum in Royston, GA. Along with Roberto he was my favorite player growing up, he fell out of favor a bit with the reporting on his personality, and then I was ecstatic to read Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty by Charles Leerhsen and find out a lot of that reputation was bunk.

So, any recommendations?

[niveklaen]

https://museumofaviation.org/

This museum is worth stopping in if you are passing through Georgia on your way to Florida. Lots of planes and a very knowledgeable staff that is always thrilled to have anyone show up because it is so far off the beaten trail. You are likely to end up getting a personal tour by a retired Air Force Pilot who will have lots of unprintable stories to share...or a G rated version if you bring along a kid

[bundabergdevil]

Why the … between “In Praise of” and “Museums”? Should I mentally insert cymbals crashing when I get to “museums” or was the … suggesting the reader was about o be surprised by what we were praising?

I’m very curious. Also, I like museums and am pro praising them.

[dudog84]

Why the … between “In Praise of” and “Museums”? Should I mentally insert cymbals crashing when I get to “museums” or was the … suggesting the reader was about o be surprised by what we were praising?

I’m very curious. Also, I like museums and am pro praising them.

It's my goof on Leonard Nimoy and In Search of...

Probably dated, I know...and I love the ellipsis.

[tommy]

Oh, no doubt: The Museum of Broken Relationships in Zagreb, Croatia. So quirky and so funny and in many instances quite poignant.

https://www.afar.com/magazine/everyt...-relationships

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum..._Relationships

[fidel]

A couple of museums that I found interesting for not being just objects, but capture a certain place over time.

Given where it is, it should be a stop for everyone in Paris. But somehow is hidden (or at least less travelled). A great insight into the changes Paris went through over the centuries.

https://www.musee-moyenage.fr/en/

Similar, the history of Berlin.

https://www.en.stadtmuseum.de/maerkisches-museum

I'd love to hear of other similar museums.

[Section 15]

Now you've got me started. The following list tries to identify the major focus of each museum so that you can adjust your expectations and interests. Please note the qualifier "tries."

One pet peeve I have are museums that are too big and require too much psychic energy to approach. You either focus on a specific area/show, or you go back over many days. That doesn't work for me unless there is a specific artist or historical period I am interested in. For this reason I will not mention any of the NYC or DC museums, though they are all world class and deserving of their accolades. Instead, I'll mention ones that I have personal success navigating and enjoying.

First, in eastern Massachusetts, since I spent decades enjoying the history and culture of the region. Forget the MFA https://www.mfa.org/ it's simply too large, too diverse, and too logistically difficult (Boston traffic). Instead, consider the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum https://www.gardnermuseum.org/. It's still in downtown Boston, but it is a much more intimate setting, and you get to see the empty frames left over from the still unsolved Vermeer heist, the greatest art theft of our lifetimes https://www.netflix.com/title/81032570.

Moving out into the burbs, I highly recommend the Peabody Essex museum in Salem. Years ago it was a stuffy place that specialized in Salem's maritime history; ship models, marine paintings, and relics of the China tea trade brought back by clipper captains. Worth one visit, if that (I personally like the maritime paintings and ship models). However, about 15 years ago the town more than doubled the size of the exhibit spaces and started showing more current work. I've seen memorable exhibits of JMW Turner, Man Ray and Lee Miller (I had never seen Lee Miller's work, a revelation), and others. Plus Salem is a very easy place to get around and find good restaurants on the waterfront.

Moving closer to where I lived is the DeCordova in Lincoln, MA https://thetrustees.org/place/decordova/. A world class sculpture park in a very rural and beautiful location. They also have a very high end photography collection. The rest of their collection and traveling exhibits are generally worth seeing. Also in Lincoln is a very special place, the Walter Gropius house https://www.historicnewengland.org/p...gropius-house/, the personal home of one of the founders of the Bauhaus. I've spent many hours in the house and on the grounds both during the day and at night (the lighting he designed changes everything from what you see during the day). Even now, I live less than 10 miles from the former campus of Black Mountain College, founded by other refugees from the Bauhaus, like Joseph Albers, so I still feel connected.

For those of you in North Carolina, the Asheville Museum of Art https://www.ashevilleart.org/ has had a renaissance in the past three years similar to the Peabody Essex, albeit on a smaller scale. They have recently had a very interesting Wyeth exhibit (all three generations) and are currently showing photographs from a former acquaintance, Joyce Tenneson https://www.ashevilleart.org/exhibit...ed-and-veiled/. It's a really good place to see excellent art and not feel overwhelmed.

OK, only one more in a completely different vein. A true plant museum is the NC Arboretum https://www.ncarboretum.org/. Much more than a simple collection of plants, it shows the artistry of nature, which after all is where mankind's art impulses are born. It is a destination for plant lovers. Oh, to go back to Massachusetts, the arboretum is similar to Tower Hill in Boylston https://nebg.org/planyourvisit/ If you can't make it to Asheville, Tower Hill will blow you away.

Darn it, I can't type any more, and I'll bet you can't read any more.

Section 15

[dudog84]

Now you've got me started. The following list tries to identify the major focus of each museum so that you can adjust your expectations and interests. Please note the qualifier "tries."


Darn it, I can't type any more, and I'll bet you can't read any more.

Section 15

Good stuff, keep typing. Good stuff from everyone, keep 'em comin'!

[CrazyNotCrazie]

Great topic - thanks.

I live in NYC and the Museum of Natural History is basically my second home in the winter. Some of it is a bit stale but you can't beat the dinosaurs.

My two favorite smaller NYC museums are the Tenement Museum (https://www.tenement.org/) and the Transit Museum in Brooklyn (https://www.nytransitmuseum.org/). Kids love the Transit Museum for the trains, but the exhibits are also really interesting if you are into that kind of thing - it is in a decommissioned subway station.

I haven't been in 25+ years but I remember loving the Churchill War Rooms in London. https://www.iwm.org.uk/visits/churchill-war-rooms

I go to Pittsburgh frequently to visit family but have yet to get to the Roberto Clemente museum, but I am hoping to maybe get there this summer - it is supposed to be great.

And of course, there is a great little museum not far off Towerview Road in Durham that I think most visitors to this site would enjoy (https://goduke.com/sports/2011/4/28/205144005.aspx)

[OldPhiKap]

Great topic - thanks.

I live in NYC and the Museum of Natural History is basically my second home in the winter. Some of it is a bit stale but you can't beat the dinosaurs.

My two favorite smaller NYC museums are the Tenement Museum (https://www.tenement.org/) and the Transit Museum in Brooklyn (https://www.nytransitmuseum.org/). Kids love the Transit Museum for the trains, but the exhibits are also really interesting if you are into that kind of thing - it is in a decommissioned subway station.

I haven't been in 25+ years but I remember loving the Churchill War Rooms in London. https://www.iwm.org.uk/visits/churchill-war-rooms

I go to Pittsburgh frequently to visit family but have yet to get to the Roberto Clemente museum, but I am hoping to maybe get there this summer - it is supposed to be great.

And of course, there is a great little museum not far off Towerview Road in Durham that I think most visitors to this site would enjoy (https://goduke.com/sports/2011/4/28/205144005.aspx)

If you have not been down to the KGB Espionage Museum in Manhattan, I highly recommend.

[CrazyNotCrazie]

If you have not been down to the KGB Espionage Museum in Manhattan, I highly recommend.

Looks really cool, but unfortunately looks like it was a Covid casualty and closed in 2020.

[rthomas]

From where I grew up in coastal SC, https://www.brookgreen.org/american-sculpture

[bundabergdevil]

From where I grew up in coastal SC, https://www.brookgreen.org/american-sculpture

Brookgreen is such a treasure. They do an amazing job integrating sculpture and garden. Their Christmas lights are wonderful.

But is it a museum? Is a hot dog a sandwich? I don’t know the answer to either.

[cspan37421]

Just outside of Birmingham, AL, is the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum. They have a collection of over 1,600 vintage motorcycles, from 220 manufacturers and 22 countries. A subset of over 900 are on display at any given time - there's something for everyone who has ever fallen under the spell of riding motorbikes.

https://www.barbermuseum.org/look-inside/

[They also have a collection of over 50 Lotus race cars.]

[Duke Blue Lemur]

For those of you in North Carolina, the Asheville Museum of Art https://www.ashevilleart.org/ has had a renaissance in the past three years similar to the Peabody Essex, albeit on a smaller scale. They have recently had a very interesting Wyeth exhibit (all three generations) and are currently showing photographs from a former acquaintance, Joyce Tenneson https://www.ashevilleart.org/exhibit...ed-and-veiled/. It's a really good place to see excellent art and not feel overwhelmed.



Section 15

We went here for the first time this spring and really enjoyed ourselves. The Wyeth exhibit was very good. Excellent permanent collection. The gallery guards are the most friendly and welcoming of any museum we've been to.

[Duke Blue Lemur]

The most eclectic museum I've been to is the Pitt Rivers Museum, with an entrance in an unassuming corner of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. It is like stepping into the 19th century. Three stories of anthropological artifacts collected at the height of British colonization. The artifacts from a myriad of cultures are jammed into glass cases floor to ceiling. Boats are hanging from the ceiling. Apparently, they have increased the light levels in the museum. I remember it as very dark, which added to the mystery. The Natural History Museum collection is more traditional but you can go upstairs to the site of a famous debate on evolution between Huxley and Wilberforce.

[budwom]

You can't walk ten paces in London without coming across a museum or three. Here's just a sample of some of the odder ones: https://www.visitlondon.com/things-t...london-museums

[OldPhiKap]

I want to someday get to the Ty Cobb Museum in Royston, GA. Along with Roberto he was my favorite player growing up, he fell out of favor a bit with the reporting on his personality, and then I was ecstatic to read Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty by Charles Leerhsen and find out a lot of that reputation was bunk.

So, any recommendations?

I highly recommend the Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum in Greenville, SC, if you are in the area. It’s his home, and right across from the minor league baseball stadium.

https://www.shoelessjoejackson.org/

[dudog84]

I highly recommend the Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum in Greenville, SC, if you are in the area. It’s his home, and right across from the minor league baseball stadium.

https://www.shoelessjoejackson.org/

Only an hour away from Cobb's. I may have to plan a southeastern baseball tour.

[bundabergdevil]

The Mutter Museum in Philly has some interesting medical and anatomical oddities.
https://muttermuseum.org/

I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff but the International UFO Museum in Roswell was fun/interesting.

https://www.roswellufomuseum.com/


And, how can you miss the Chasing Rainbows Museum at Dollywood chronicling the life of America's best person, Dolly Parton.

https://www.dollywood.com/