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. I’ve recently updated my museum database and can share a view of the emerging post-COVID New York museum landscape.
These pages host 198 reviews of museums of all types, from all across the city, for a fairly generous definition of “museum.” There are only three museums in the City I haven’t visited, all in Brooklyn oddly enough. I plan to check those off the list this spring (they have reopened), and I’ve got a few updates to write — The International Center of Photography among others.
Useful Resources
- A color-coded map of every museum in New York City (see below)
- Searchable and sortable database of every museum in New York City (updated April 2021 to show what’s open).
- View newest reviews and other posts
The Map
I built an interactive map of all the museums in New York, though I have not updated it for which are open at this stage of the pandemic . Hope to do that soon.
Project Background
- NY Museum Update – April 2021
- 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
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 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 Frick Madison
- 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