• Brooklyn Museum of Art.  "The Brooklyn Museum of Art is the second largest art museum in New York City and one of the largest in the United States. One of the premier art institutions in the world, its permanent collection includes more than one and a half million objects, from ancient Egyptian masterpieces to contemporary art, and represents almost every culture. It is housed in a 560,000 square foot, Beaux-Arts building that welcomes approximately half a million visitors each year. Located in Central Brooklyn, a half-hour from midtown Manhattan with its own subway stop, the Museum is set on Eastern Parkway and one block from Grand Army Plaza in a complex of 19th-century parks and gardens that also contains Prospect Park, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and the Wildlife Center."
• Brooklyn Public Library.  "As an independent system, separate from the New York City and Queens libraries, Brooklyn Public Library serves the borough's 2.5 million residents, offering thousands of public programs, millions of books and use of more than 850 free Internet-accessible computers."
• Center for Jewish History.  "The Center for Jewish History emerged from a vision of a unique central repository for the cultural and historical legacy of the Jewish people. The Center embodies the unique partnership of five major institutions of Jewish scholarship, history and art: American Jewish Historical Society, American Sephardi Federation, Leo Baeck Institute, Yeshiva University Museum and the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. The Center will serve the worldwide academic and general communities with combined holdings of approximately 100 million archival documents, a half million books, and thousands of photographs, artifacts, paintings and textiles - the largest repository documenting the Jewish experience outside of Israel. The Center's dynamic program of exhibits, cultural events and intellectual gatherings will interest all who wish to explore the richness of the Jewish past and the promise of the Jewish future."
• Children's Museum of Manhattan.  "The Children’s Museum of Manhattan (CMOM) is a not-for-profit institution, founded in 1973, to engage children and families in a partnership of learning through interactive exhibits and educational programs. CMOM inspires children and families to learn about themselves and our culturally diverse world through the arts, literacy, media & communications, science & the environment and early childhood education."
• The Cloisters.  "The Cloisters is a branch of the Museum devoted to the art and architecture of medieval Europe."
• Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.  "Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution is the only museum in the United States devoted exclusively to historic and contemporary design. The Museum believes that design shapes our objects, environments, and communications, making them more desirable, functional, and accessible. The Museum celebrates the nature of design and explores its impact on the quality of our lives."
• Council on the Arts and Humanities for Staten Island.  "The mission of the Council on the Arts & Humanities for Staten Island is to develop, foster and promote the arts, cultural and humanities activities on Staten Island." 
• Dia: Chelsea.  "Dia Art Foundation was founded in 1974. A nonprofit institution, Dia plays a vital role among visual arts organizations nationally and internationally by initiating, supporting, presenting, and preserving art projects, and by serving as a locus for interdisciplinary art and criticism."
• The Doll and Toy Museum of New York City.  The Doll and Toy Museum in Brooklyn presents a history of dolls, toys, teddy bears, and more.
• The Digital Library.  "A searchable database presenting tens of thousands of digital images from The Library's collections including illuminated manuscripts, historical maps, rare prints and photographs, and more." 
• El Museo del Barrio.  "Heralded by The New York Times as “an institution in its ascendancy”, El Museo del Barrio was founded in 1969 by a group of Puerto Rican educators, artists, parents and community activists in East Harlem’s Spanish-speaking El Barrio. Since then, El Museo del Barrio has evolved into New York’s leading Latino cultural institution, having expanded its mission to represent the diversity of art and culture in all of the Caribbean and Latin America.
  
  As the only museum in New York City that specializes in representing these cultures, El Museo del Barrio continues to have a significant impact on the cultural life of New York City and is now a major stop on Manhattan’s Museum Mile on Fifth Avenue. El Museo del Barrio thrives on the sustained excellence of its collections, exhibitions and public programming."
• Fraunces Tavern Museum.  "Fraunces Tavern Museum has a number of valuable collections, including Revolutionary War period objects, paintings and books and manuscripts."
• The Frick Collection.  "The Frick Collection is a museum housed in the former mansion of Henry Clay Frick (1849–1919) coke and steel industrialist, philanthropist, and art collector. Containing some of the most exceptional works of Western art ranging from the Renaissance through the late nineteenth century, the Collection includes works by such celebrated artists as Bellini, Constable, Corot, Fragonard, Gainsborough, Goya, El Greco, Holbein, Ingres, Manet, Monet, Rembrandt, Renoir, Titian, Turner, Velázquez, Vermeer, and Whistler. In addition to major paintings by these and other masters, the Frick’s galleries contain fine French porcelains, Italian bronzes, sculptures, and period furniture. The permanent collection is further enriched by frequent presentations of special exhibitions."
• The Garibaldi-Meucci Museum.  "In the heart of Rosebank is the historic home of the pioneer inventor, Antonio Meucci, and legendary hero, Giuseppe Garibaldi. The simple country residence was built circa 1840 in the Gothic-revival style. In 1850 Meucci and his wife Ester learned of its availability and soon after, began renting it. In the same year, Garibaldi also arrived in New York City seeking refuge. Meucci offered him the hospitality of his home and together they worked in his candle factory until 1854 when Garibaldi returned to Italy to lead the victories that unified Italy and won him world wide fame."
• Grey Art Gallery.  "The Grey Art Gallery is New York University's fine arts museum, located on historic Washington Square Park in New York City's Greenwich Village. As a university art museum, the Grey Art Gallery functions to collect, preserve, study, document, interpret, and exhibit the evidence of human culture. While these goals are common to all museums, the Grey distinguishes itself by emphasizing art's historical, cultural, and social contexts, with experimentation and interpretation as integral parts of programmatic planning. Thus, in addition to being a place to view the objects of material culture, the Gallery serves as a museum-laboratory in which a broader view of an object's environment enriches our understanding of its contribution to civilization."
• Guggenheim Museum, New York.  "The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation was incorporated in 1937, and the Museum of Non-Objective Painting, as it was then known, was established two years later. The museum—which assumed temporary residence in a former automobile showroom on East 54th Street in New York—took as its basis the radical new forms of art being developed by such artists as Vasily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, and Piet Mondrian."
• Humanities and Social Sciences Library.  "The New York Public Library's collection of books, manuscripts, archives, prints, and photographs from the humanities and social sciences."
• International Center of Photography. 
• Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum.  "One of the most successful ships in US history is now one of the most unique attractions in New York City. Berthed on the mighty Hudson River in Manhattan, the Museum boasts educational exhibits and exciting events."
• Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum.  "The permanent home of The Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum displays a comprehensive collection of artwork by sculptor Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988) in a tranquil setting created by the artist. On exhibition were more than 240 works, including stone, metal, wood and clay sculptures, models for public projects and gardens, dance sets, and Noguchi's Akari light sculptures. Housed in thirteen galleries within a converted factory building, and encircling a garden containing major granite and basalt sculptures, the museum presents one of the most dramatic installations of art in New York City. The Isamu Noguchi Museum is operated by The Isamu Noguchi Foundation, Inc."
• Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art.  "This Staten Island museum exhibits Tibetan art and hosts a number of educational programs on Buddhism, chanting, and meditation."
• Jewish Museum of New York.  "Over the past 100 years, the Museum has assumed its role as a major cultural institution for New York City and the world. The Jewish Museum is an art museum exploring Jewish culture. It is both a source of inspiration and knowledge for an audience of visitors of all cultural backgrounds, and a special touchstone of identity for a diverse population of Jewish people."
• Library for the Performing Arts.  "A searchable history of City dance, theater, and music from New York's Public Library."
• Louis Armstrong House and Archives.  "The mission of the Louis Armstrong House & Archives is to preserve and promote the cultural legacy of Louis Armstrong. This includes making the materials in the archives available to everyone, serving as a reference source for researchers, presenting concerts and educational programs about his life, and operating his home as a historic house museum."
• Metropolitan Museum of Art.  "The Met, which opened in 1870, holds over two million pieces of art from all over the world, spanning 5,000 years of art and culture."
• The Morgan Library.  "A complex of buildings in the heart of New York City, the Morgan Library began as the private library of financier Pierpont Morgan (1837–1913), one of the preeminent collectors and cultural benefactors in the United States. As early as 1890 Morgan had begun to assemble a collection of illuminated, literary, and historical manuscripts, early printed books, and old master drawings and prints." 
• The Museum for African Art.  "The Museum for African Art has relocated to Long Island City, Queens. We present major exhibitions in our Main Gallery, and smaller changing exhibitions in our Focus Gallery. In addition, we maintain a lively calendar of events for visitors of all ages and a Museum Store that showcases traditional African art and crafts in a stylish setting."
• Museum of American Financial History.  "Welcome to the Museum of American Financial History, the nation's only independent public museum dedicated to celebrating the spirit of entrepreneurship and the democratic free market tradition which has made New York City the financial capital of the world. Founded in 1988, the Museum was chartered as an educational institution. Fifteen years later, financial education is at the core of the Museum’s mission and its public programs and services. An active national-level advocate on behalf of the growing financial literacy movement, the Museum is committed to helping all Americans look to the lessons of financial history, while taking charge of their own financial lives."
• Museum of American Folk Art.  "In December 2001, the American Folk Art Museum opened its new home, located in the heart of Manhattan at 45 West 53rd Street. Architects Tod Williams Billie Tsien and Associates designed the building, for which they were awarded the Masterworks Award for the Best New Building in New York City for 2001 by the Municipal Art Society. The museum's magnificent new home proclaims the importance of folk art as a vital component of mainstream artistic expression and celebrates the extraordinary accomplishments of "ordinary" people. The American Folk Art Museum is one of the leading institutions dedicated to the exhibition and preservation of folk art. The new building marks the culmination of a campaign to establish a permanent presence on 53rd Street, the museum's historic home since its founding in 1961. From 18th- and 19th-century paintings, quilts, and sculptures to the dynamic work of contemporary self-taught artists, the museum's extraordinary collection reveals a spectrum of American expression. The museum warmly welcomes you and invites you to meet the new face of folk art."
• Museum of Chinese in the Americas.  "The Museum of Chinese in the Americas (MoCA) is the first fulltime, professionally staffed museum dedicated to reclaiming, preserving, and interpreting the history and culture of Chinese and their descendants in the Western Hemisphere."
• Museum of Jewish Heritage.  "When the Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust first opened its doors on September 15, 1997, visitors gained a vital perspective on 20th century Jewish history.
  
  Created as a living memorial to those who perished during the Holocaust, our Museum honors those who died by celebrating their lives - cherishing the traditions that they embraced, examining their achievements and faith, and affirming the vibrant worldwide Jewish community that is their legacy today.
  
  The two quotes that define the Museum's mission - Remember, Never Forget…There Is Hope For Your Future - also define the Museum's perspective on the events of the twentieth century Jewish experience. Although the Museum centers on life before, during, and after the Holocaust, the obligation to remember is enriched and enhanced by a commitment to the principles of social justice, education, and culture."
• Museum of Modern Art.  "Founded in 1929 as an educational institution, The Museum of Modern Art is dedicated to being the foremost museum of modern art in the world.
  
  Through the leadership of its trustees and staff, The Museum of Modern Art manifests this commitment by establishing, preserving, and documenting a permanent collection of the highest order that reflects the vitality, complexity, and unfolding patterns of modern and contemporary art; by presenting exhibitions and educational programs of unparalleled significance; by sustaining a library, archives, and conservation laboratory that are recognized as international centers of research; and by supporting scholarship and publications of preeminent intellectual merit.
  
  Central to The Museum of Modern Art's mission is the encouragement of an ever deeper understanding and enjoyment of modern and contemporary art by the diverse local, national, and international audiences that it serves."
• Museum of Modern Art - Queens. (See above).
• Museum of Television and Radio.  "The Museum of Television & Radio is a nonprofit organization founded by William S. Paley in 1975 to collect and preserve television and radio programs and to make these programs available to the public.
  
  Since opening its doors in 1976, the Museum has expanded the collection to include more than 100,000 programs chosen for their artistic, cultural, and historical significance. The collection covers news, drama, public affairs programs, documentaries, the performing arts, children's programming, sports, comedy, and advertising.
  
  Each year the Museum, using radio and television programs from the collection, organizes major exhibitions and screenings and listening series that focus on topics of social, historical, popular, or artistic interest. Seminars feature in-person discussions with writers, producers, directors, actors, and others involved with landmark programming. In addition, the Museum's comprehensive education program welcomes special interest groups and students from the elementary to the university level and encourages them to become critical thinkers by interpreting and analyzing radio and television programs."
• Museum of the American Indian.  "The National Museum of the American Indian is the sixteenth museum of the Smithsonian Institution. It is the first national museum dedicated to the preservation, study, and exhibition of the life, languages, literature, history, and arts of Native Americans. Established by an act of Congress in 1989, the museum works in collaboration with the Native peoples of the Western Hemisphere to protect and foster their cultures by reaffirming traditions and beliefs, encouraging contemporary artistic expression, and empowering the Indian voice."
• Museum of the City of New York.  "The Museum of the City of New York is a private, not-for-profit educational corporation founded in 1923 for the purpose of presenting the history of New York City and its people as a significant learning resource. The Museum advances its mission through exhibitions, educational activities, and publications and by acquiring, preserving, and documenting original cultural materials which reflect New York City’s history. In fulfilling its mission, the Museum provides New Yorkers and visitors an understanding of the individual and shared heritages that have traditionally characterized New York City and the sense of time, place, and self that is essential for the well being of all communities."
• National Academy of Design.  "The National Academy of Design is a three-part institution, encompassing a museum, a school of fine arts, and an honorary association of artists. Founded in 1825 by such leading artists as Samuel F. B. Morse, Asher B. Durand, and Thomas Cole to 'promote the fine arts in America through instruction and exhibition,' the Academy continues to play a critical role in preserving and fostering the visual arts. Through a program of exceptional exhibitions in the Museum and quality instruction in the School of Fine Arts, the Academy serves as a link to the art of our past and a bridge to that of the future."
• National Lighthouse Center and Museum.  "Broadening the Public's Appreciation and Understanding of America's Lighthouse Heritage."
• The New Museum of Contemporary Art.  "Founded in 1977, the New Museum of Contemporary Art is the premier contemporary art museum in New York City and among the most important internationally. Each year, the Museum presents six major exhibitions, and five Media Lounge shows. The program of dynamic solo exhibitions and landmark group shows defines key moments in the development of contemporary art, reflects the global nature of art today, and spans a vast array of cultural activities and media.
   
  The Museum is guided by the conviction that contemporary art is a vital social force that extends beyond the art world and into the broader culture. Our purpose is to engage diverse audiences ranging from arts professionals to those less familiar with contemporary art."
• New York City Fire Museum.  "The New York City Fire Museum houses one of the nation's most important collections of fire related art and artifacts from the late 18th century to the present. Among its holdings are painted leather buckets, helmets, parade hats and belts, lanterns and tools, pre Civil War hand pumped fire engines, horse drawn vehicles and early motorized apparatus.
  
  The New York City Fire Museum is located in a renovated 1904 firehouse at 278 Spring Street in the SoHo district of Manhattan."
• New York City Police Museum.  "The mission of The New York City Police Museum (NYCPM) is to preserve the rich and unique history of the New York City Police Department and the extensive collections of materials relating to its 158-year history."
• New York Hall of Science.  "The New York Hall of Science is New York City’s only hands-on science and technology center. The Hall features more than 225 hands-on exhibits. Visit us and explore the wonder and excitement of biology, chemistry and physics."
• New York Public Library.  "Libraries are the memory of humankind, irreplaceable repositories of documents of human thought and action. The New York Public Library is such a memory bank par excellence, one of the great knowledge institutions of the world, its myriad collections ranking with those of the British Library, the Library of Congress, and the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Virtually all of the Library's many collections and services are freely available to all comers. In fact, the Library has but one criterion for admission: curiosity.
  
  The New York Public Library comprises simultaneously a set of scholarly research collections and a network of community libraries, and its intellectual and cultural range is both global and local, while singularly attuned to New York City. That combination lends to the Library an extraordinary richness. It is special also in being historically a privately managed, nonprofit corporation with a public mission, operating with both private and public financing in a century-old, still evolving private-public partnership. The research collections (for reference only, and organized as The Research Libraries, with four major centers) resemble the holdings of the great national and university libraries, and the community circulating libraries (organized as The Branch Libraries) resemble classic American municipal libraries."
• PS1.  "Founded in 1971, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center is one of the largest and oldest arts organizations in the United States solely devoted to contemporary art. Recognized as a defining force of the alternative space movement, P.S.1 stands out from other major arts institutions in its cutting edge approach to exhibitions and direct involvement with artists. P.S.1 combines a world-class exhibition program, a prestigious National and International Artist Studio Program, and a broad spectrum of education and public programs that serve our many audiences.
• Poets House.  "Poets House is a literary center and poetry archive - a Collection and meeting place that invites poets and the public to step into the living tradition of poetry. Our poetry resources and literary events document the wealth and diversity of modern poetry, and stimulate public dialogue on issues of poetry in culture.
  
  Founded in 1985 by poet Stanley Kunitz and arts administrator Elizabeth Kray, Poets House is a home for all who read and write poetry.
  
  At the heart of the organization is our 40,000 volume poetry collection. Free and open to the public, the library includes books, journals, chapbooks, audio tapes, videos and electronic media. It is the most comprehensive open-access collection of poetry books in the United States and the foundation for all of our programs and services."
• Queens Borough Public Library.  "The mission of the Queens Borough Public Library is to provide quality services, resources, and lifelong learning opportunities through books and a variety of other formats to meet the informational, educational, cultural, and recreational needs and interests of its diverse and changing population.
  
  The Library is a forum for all points of view and adheres to the principles of intellectual freedom as expressed in the Library Bill of Rights formulated by the American Library Association."
• The Queens Museum of Art.  "The Queens Museum of Art is dedicated to presenting the highest quality visual arts and educational programming for people in the New York metropolitan area, and particularly for the residents of Queens, a uniquely diverse ethnic, cultural and international community.
  
  The Museum fulfills its mission by designing and providing art exhibitions and educational experiences that promote the appreciation and enjoyment of art, support the creative efforts of artists, and enhance the quality of life through interpreting, collecting, and exhibiting art, architecture, and design.
  
  The Queens Museum of Art presents artistic and educational programs and exhibitions that directly relate to the contemporary urban life of its constituents while maintaining the highest standards of professional, intellectual, and ethical responsibility."
• Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.  "The Public Library's center for research on the culture of African Americans, the Schomburg Center has art, artifacts, performances, rare books, moving images and photographs; the Web site provides online exhibits and resources.
• The Science, Industry, and Business Library.  "The Public Library's center for research on the culture of African Americans, the Schomburg Center has art, artifacts, performances, rare books, moving images and photographs; the Web site provides online exhibits and resources."
• SculptureCenter.  "The mission of SculptureCenter is to engage with artists in evolving the definition of contemporary sculpture. Our programs and exhibition place sculpture in a rich aesthetic, cultural, and historic context. We educate, enthuse, and entertain a broad audience including artists, art lovers, art professionals, and the communities in which we live. SculptureCenter earns support through a focus on artistic vision and fiscal responsibility."
• Skyscraper Museum.  "Founded in 1996, The Skyscraper Museum is a private, not-for-profit, educational corporation devoted to the study of high-rise building, past, present, and future.
  
  Located in New York City, the world's first and foremost vertical metropolis, the museum celebrates the city's rich architectural heritage and examines the historical forces and individuals that have shaped its successive skylines. Through exhibitions, programs and publications, the museum explores tall buildings as objects of design, products of technology, sites of construction, investments in real estate, and places of work and residence."
• Socrates Sculpture Park.  "Socrates Sculpture Park was an abandoned riverside landfill and illegal dumpsite until 1986 when a coalition of artists and community members, under the leadership of artist Mark di Suvero, transformed it into an open studio and exhibition space for artists and a neighborhood park for local residents. Today it is an internationally renowned outdoor museum and artist residency program that also serves as a vital New York City park offering a wide variety of public services."   
• South Street Seaport Museum.  "When you visit the South Street Seaport Museum, the exhibits in our galleries and on our historic ships are just the beginning of a fantastic voyage back in time. The museum is located on the site of what was once this country's leading port and is now a twelve-square-block historic district in lower Manhattan. South Street provides visitors with an unforgettable glimpse into a past where 18th– and 19th–century buildings line stone-paved streets; sea-laden breezes waft off the river; and the nation's largest wholesale fish market still operates."
• Staten Island Children's Museum.  "Find out about current exhibits and hours of operation for the Staten Island Children's Museum at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center."
• The Studio Museum of Harlem.  "This museum is dedicated to Caribbean, African, and African-American art and culture."
• Transit Museum.  "The New York Transit Museum, one of the city’s leading cultural institutions is the largest museum in the United States devoted to urban public transportation history, and one of the premier institutions of its kind in the world. The Museum explores the development of the greater New York metropolitan region through the presentation of exhibitions, tours, educational programs and workshops dealing with the cultural, social and technological history of public transportation. Since its inception as a temporary exhibit in 1976, the Museum has grown in scope and popularity. The museum is housed in a historic 1936 IND subway station in Brooklyn Heights.
  
  The New York Transit Museum’s refurbished galleries feature reinstalled popular exhibits such as Steel, Stone and Backbone, which recounts the tale of building New York City’s 100 year-old subway system, and many new highly interactive exhibitions such as On the Streets, an in-depth look at New York City’s trolleys and buses. New features of interest include user-friendly education workshops and a new computer resource center. With these and many other additions, a fresh and enriching educational experience of the history of New York’s regional transportation network awaits all visitors.
  
  An orientation gallery that introduces visitors to the Museum, its mission, and its unique setting greets visitors. This orientation is expanded through an exhibition of artifacts and new acquisitions which provide an historical overview of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and its operating agencies: New York City Transit; Long Island Rail Road; Long Island Bus; Metro-North Railroad; MTA Bridges and Tunnels, and predecessor companies."
• Whitney Museum of Art.  "The Whitney Museum houses one of the world's foremost collections of twentieth-century American art. The Permanent Collection of some 12,000 works encompasses paintings, sculptures, multimedia installations, drawings, prints, and photographs—and is still growing. The Museum was founded in 1931 with a core group of 700 art objects, many of them from the personal collection of founder Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney; others were purchased by Mrs. Whitney at the time of the opening to provide a more thorough overview of American art in the early decades of the century. Mrs. Whitney favored the art of the revolutionary artists derisively called the Ashcan School, among them John Sloan, George Luks, and Everett Shinn, as well as realists such as Edward Hopper and American Scene painters John Steuart Curry and Thomas Hart Benton. Her initial gift, however, also comprised many important works by early modernists—Stuart Davis, Charles Demuth, Charles Sheeler, Max Weber, and others. Virtually all the works collected by the Museum for the next twenty years came through the generosity of Mrs. Whitney."

Return to NYC Destination Guide