In February of 2017, I started a journey to visit and review every museum in New York City. I slowed down after a while, but the end was in sight when the pandemic threw a major wrench in my plans. It’s tough at this moment to say how many museums I visited won’t be back when things return to “normal” — even pre-COVID a couple closed along the way. But some new ones opened, too.
In any case, these pages host 197 reviews of museums of all types, from all across the city. Given over 200 total New York museums in my database (pre-pandemic and also overdue for an update) I have a ways to go. But I’m well on my way, and I’m documenting the adventure here.
What’s New
- New! A color-coded map of every museum in New York City (see below!)
- Searchable and sortable database of every museum in New York City.
- View newest reviews and other posts
The Map
I built an interactive map of all the museums in New York, though sadly I have not updated it for which are open at this stage of the pandemic (Feb 2021). Hope to do that soon.
Project Background
- The Museum Emoji Guessing Game
- Nine Future New York Museums
- New York Museums of Excellence
- New York Museums of African-American History and Culture
- A Museum Year in Review
- Museums in the Age of Instagram
- 100 New York City Museums: Milestone Post
- A Guide to Hamilton in New York City Museums
- Some Thoughts on Museum-Speak
- The Museum Project: Milestone I
Museum Reviews
The Bronx
- Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum
- Bronx Museum of the Arts
- Bronx River Art Center
- City Island Nautical Museum
- Derfner Judaica Museum & Hebrew Home Art Collection
- Edgar Allan Poe Cottage
- Fordham Museum of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Art
- Hall of Fame for Great Americans
- Hostos Center for the Arts and Culture
- Lehman College Art Gallery
- Maritime Industry Museum
- Museum of Bronx History at the Valentine-Varian House
- New York Botanical Garden
- Van Cortlandt House Museum
- Wave Hill
- Woodlawn Cemetery
Brooklyn
- A.I.R. Gallery
- Art in General
- BLDG 92 at Brooklyn Navy Yard
- BRIC House
- Brooklyn Botanic Garden
- Brooklyn Historical Society
- Brooklyn Museum
- City Reliquary
- Coney Island Museum
- Enrico Caruso Museum
- Green-Wood Cemetery
- Harbor Defense Museum
- Lefferts Historic House
- Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts
- New York Transit Museum
- Old Stone House
- Waterfront Museum
- Weeksville Heritage Center
- Williamsburg Art and Historical Center
- Wyckoff House Museum
Manhattan
- 9/11 Tribute Museum
- Abrons Arts Center
- African Burial Ground National Monument
- American Folk Art Museum
- American Kennel Club Museum of the Dog
- American Museum of Natural History
- American Numismatic Society Gallery
- Americas Society
- Aperture Foundation
- Asia Society Museum
- Austrian Cultural Forum Gallery
- Bard Graduate Center Gallery
- Bernard Museum of Judaica at Temple Emanu-El
- Castle Clinton National Monument
- Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine
- Center for Architecture
- Center for Book Arts
- Center for Jewish History
- Children’s Museum of Manhattan
- Children’s Museum of the Arts
- China Institute
- Clemente Center
- Columbia University Rare Book & Manuscript Library
- Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
- Czech Center New York
- DareDevil Museum of Tattoo History
- Dia: Chelsea
- Drawing Center
- Dyckman Farmhouse
- El Museo del Barrio
- Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration
- FDNY Fire Zone
- Federal Hall National Memorial
- Federal Reserve Bank of New York Museum
- Fraunces Tavern Museum
- General Grant National Memorial
- Governors Island National Monument
- Gracie Mansion
- Grey Art Gallery
- Ground Zero Museum Workshop
- Guggenheim Museum
- Hamilton Grange National Memorial
- Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion Museum
- International Center of Photography
- International Print Center
- Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum
- Japan Society Gallery
- Jewish Museum
- Judd Foundation
- Kehila Kedosha Janina Synagogue and Museum
- Korea Society Gallery
- Korean Cultural Center Gallery
- Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art
- Lower East Side Tenement Museum
- Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum
- Merchant’s House Museum
- Met Breuer
- Milton Resnick and Pat Passlof Foundation
- Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery, Columbia University
- Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery, Columbia University
- Mmuseumm
- Morris-Jumel Mansion
- Mossman Lock Collection
- Mount Vernon Hotel
- Museum at Eldridge Street
- Museum at FIT
- Museum of American Finance
- Museum of American Illustration
- Museum of Arts and Design
- Museum of Chinese in America
- Museum of Jewish Heritage: A Living Memorial to the Holocaust
- Museum of Modern Art
- Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS)
- Museum of Sex
- Museum of the American Gangster
- Museum of the City of New York
- National Jazz Museum in Harlem
- National Museum of Mathematics
- National Museum of the American Indian Heye Center
- National September 11 Museum
- National Track and Field Hall of Fame
- Neue Galerie
- New Museum
- New York City Fire Museum
- New York City Police Museum
- New York Earth Room
- New York Public Library (Stephen A. Schwarzman Building)
- New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
- New York School of Interior Design Gallery
- New-York Historical Society
- Nicholas Roerich Museum
- Onassis Cultural Center
- Park Avenue Armory
- Parsons – The New School Gallery
- Poster House
- Pratt Manhattan Gallery
- Renee and Chaim Gross Foundation
- Roosevelt House
- Rose Museum at Carnegie Hall
- Rubin Museum of Art
- Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
- Shirley Fiterman Art Center, Brooklyn Manhattan Community College
- Skyscraper Museum
- South Street Seaport Museum
- Statue of Liberty Museum
- Studio Museum in Harlem
- Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art and Storytelling
- Swiss Institute
- The Cloisters
- The Frick Collection
- The Grolier Club
- The Morgan Library & Museum
- Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site
- Tibet House Gallery
- Transit Museum at Grand Central Terminal
- Trinity Church
- Ukrainian Institute of America
- Ukrainian Museum
- United Nations Headquarters
- Westbeth Gallery
- White Columns
- Whitney Museum of American Art
Queens
- Bayside Historical Society
- Bowne House
- Dorsky Gallery Curatorial Programs
- Fisher Landau Center for Art
- Fort Totten Visitor’s Center & Water Battery
- Godwin-Ternbach Museum
- Isamu Noguchi Museum
- Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning
- King Manor Museum
- Kingsland Homestead / Queens Historical Society
- Lewis Latimer House
- Living Museum
- Louis Armstrong House Museum
- MoMA PS1
- Museum of the Moving Image
- New York Hall of Science
- Queens Botanical Garden
- Queens College Art Center
- Queens County Farm Museum
- Queens Museum
- SculptureCenter
- Socrates Sculpture Park
- Vander Ende Onderdonk House
- Voelker Orth Museum, Bird Sanctuary, and Victorian Garden
Staten Island