As my museum review list grows, it makes sense to provide other lenses on the great sweep of New York City museums and what I’ve written about them. So I’ve created an index of New York museums by topic for anyone seeking a particular theme or interest area.
Hopefully this will help you identify new museums that pique your curiosity, or that align with what you might be in the mood for.
Best — My favorites, highly recommended
- Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine
- Hall of Fame for Great Americans
- Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum
- Louis Armstrong House Museum
- Lower East Side Tenement Museum
- Museum of Arts and Design
- Museum of Modern Art
- Museum of the City of New York
- Rubin Museum of Art
- The Cloisters
- The Frick Collection
- The Frick Madison
- Wave Hill
- Whitney Museum of American Art
- Wyckoff House Museum
Architectural Gems, or Places About Architecture
- Austrian Cultural Forum Gallery
- Brooklyn Historical Society
- Brooklyn Museum
- Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine
- Center for Architecture
- Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration
- Federal Reserve Bank of New York Museum
- Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation at the American Museum of Natural History
- Green-Wood Cemetery
- Guggenheim Museum
- Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art
- Judd Foundation
- Living Museum
- Lower East Side Tenement Museum
- Met Breuer
- Milton Resnick and Pat Passlof Foundation
- MoMA PS1
- Museum at Eldridge Street
- Museum of Arts and Design
- Museum of Modern Art
- National Lighthouse Museum
- National Museum of the American Indian Heye Center
- National September 11 Museum
- National Track and Field Hall of Fame
- New Museum
- New York Botanical Garden
- New York Hall of Science
- New York Public Library (Stephen A. Schwarzman Building)
- Newhouse Center of Contemporary Art
- Noble Maritime Collection
- Park Avenue Armory
- Queens Botanical Garden
- Rose Museum at Carnegie Hall
- SculptureCenter
- Skyscraper Museum
- Staten Island Museum
- Statue of Liberty Museum
- Statue of Liberty Museum
- Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art and Storytelling
- The Frick Madison
- The Morgan Library & Museum
- Transit Museum at Grand Central Terminal
- Ukrainian Institute of America
- United Nations Headquarters
- Wave Hill
- Whitney Museum of American Art
- Woodlawn Cemetery
Art Museums
- A.I.R. Gallery
- Abrons Arts Center
- American Academy of Arts and Letters
- American Folk Art Museum
- American Kennel Club Museum of the Dog
- Americas Society
- Aperture Foundation
- Art in General
- Austrian Cultural Forum Gallery
- Bard Graduate Center Gallery
- Bernard Museum of Judaica at Temple Emanu-El
- BRIC House
- Bronx Museum of the Arts
- Bronx River Art Center
- Brooklyn Museum
- Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine
- Center for Book Arts
- Center for Italian Modern Art
- Center for Jewish History
- Children’s Museum of the Arts
- Clemente Center
- Czech Center New York
- Derfner Judaica Museum & Hebrew Home Art Collection
- Dia: Chelsea
- Dorsky Gallery Curatorial Programs
- Drawing Center
- El Museo del Barrio
- Fisher Landau Center for Art
- Fordham Museum of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Art
- Fotografiska
- Godwin-Ternbach Museum
- Green-Wood Cemetery
- Grey Art Gallery
- Guggenheim Museum
- Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion Museum
- Hispanic Society of America
- Hispanic Society of America
- Hostos Center for the Arts and Culture
- Hunter College Art Galleries
- International Center of Photography
- International Center of Photography
- International Print Center
- Isamu Noguchi Museum
- Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning
- Japan Society Gallery
- Jewish Museum
- Judd Foundation
- Korean Cultural Center Gallery
- Lehman College Art Gallery
- Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art
- Living 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
- MoMA PS1
- Museum at FIT
- Museum of American Illustration
- Museum of Arts and Design
- Museum of Modern Art
- National Museum of the American Indian Heye Center
- Neue Galerie
- New Museum
- New York Earth Room
- New York Public Library (Stephen A. Schwarzman Building)
- New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
- Newhouse Center of Contemporary Art
- Nicholas Roerich Museum
- Noble Maritime Collection
- Old Stone House
- Onassis Cultural Center
- Park Avenue Armory
- Parsons – The New School Gallery
- Poster House
- Pratt Manhattan Gallery
- Queens Botanical Garden
- Queens College Art Center
- Queens Museum
- Renee and Chaim Gross Foundation
- Rubin Museum of Art
- SculptureCenter
- Shirley Fiterman Art Center, Brooklyn Manhattan Community College
- Socrates Sculpture Park
- Staten Island 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
- Tibet House Gallery
- Ukrainian Institute of America
- Wave Hill
- Westbeth Gallery
- White Columns
- Whitney Museum of American Art
- Williamsburg Art and Historical Center
- Woodlawn Cemetery
Cultural Museums
- African Burial Ground National Monument
- American Kennel Club Museum of the Dog
- Americas Society
- Asia Society Museum
- Austrian Cultural Forum Gallery
- Bard Graduate Center Gallery
- Bernard Museum of Judaica at Temple Emanu-El
- BRIC House
- Brooklyn Children’s Museum
- Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine
- Center for Jewish History
- China Institute
- Clemente Center
- Coney Island Museum
- Czech Center New York
- DareDevil Museum of Tattoo History
- Derfner Judaica Museum & Hebrew Home Art Collection
- El Museo del Barrio
- Enrico Caruso Museum
- Hall of Fame for Great Americans
- Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion Museum
- Hispanic Society of America
- Hispanic Society of America
- Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art
- Japan Society Gallery
- Jewish Museum
- 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
- Mmuseumm
- Museum at Eldridge Street
- Museum of Broadway
- Museum of Chinese in America
- Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts
- Museum of Jewish Heritage: A Living Memorial to the Holocaust
- Museum of Sex
- Museum of the American Gangster
- National Jazz Museum in Harlem
- National Museum of the American Indian Heye Center
- National Track and Field Hall of Fame
- New York Public Library (Stephen A. Schwarzman Building)
- Nicholas Roerich Museum
- Onassis Cultural Center
- Paley Center Museum
- Rose Museum at Carnegie Hall
- Rubin Museum of Art
- Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
- Studio Museum in Harlem
- Tibet House Gallery
- Ukrainian Institute of America
- Ukrainian Museum
Design Museums
- Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
- Museum of Arts and Design
- New York School of Interior Design Gallery
Hamilton Connections: No Link is too Tenuous!
- Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum
- Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine
- Fraunces Tavern Museum
- Gracie Mansion
- Hall of Fame for Great Americans
- Hamilton Grange National Memorial
- Harbor Defense Museum
- King Manor Museum
- Maritime Industry Museum
- Morris-Jumel Mansion
- Museum of American Finance
- Museum of the City of New York
- National Museum of the American Indian Heye Center
- New York City Fire Museum
- New York Public Library (Stephen A. Schwarzman Building)
- New-York Historical Society
- Noble Maritime Collection
- Trinity Church
History Museums
- 9/11 Tribute Museum
- African Burial Ground National Monument
- Alice Austen House
- Bayside Historical Society
- BLDG 92 at Brooklyn Navy Yard
- Bowne House
- Brooklyn Historical Society
- Castle Clinton National Monument
- City Island Nautical Museum
- City Reliquary
- Coney Island Museum
- Conference House
- Dyckman Farmhouse
- Edgar Allan Poe Cottage
- Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration
- Federal Hall National Memorial
- Federal Reserve Bank of New York Museum
- Fort Totten Visitor’s Center & Water Battery
- Fraunces Tavern Museum
- Garibaldi-Meucci Museum
- General Grant National Memorial
- Governors Island National Monument
- Gracie Mansion
- Green-Wood Cemetery
- Ground Zero Museum Workshop
- Hall of Fame for Great Americans
- Hamilton Grange National Memorial
- Harbor Defense Museum
- Historic Richmond Town
- Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum
- Jackie Robinson Museum
- Kehila Kedosha Janina Synagogue and Museum
- Kingsland Homestead / Queens Historical Society
- Lefferts Historic House
- Lewis Latimer House
- Louis Armstrong House Museum
- Lower East Side Tenement Museum
- Maritime Industry Museum
- Merchant’s House Museum
- Morris-Jumel Mansion
- Museum of American Finance
- Museum of Bronx History at the Valentine-Varian House
- Museum of Jewish Heritage: A Living Memorial to the Holocaust
- Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS)
- Museum of the American Gangster
- Museum of the City of New York
- National Jazz Museum in Harlem
- National Lighthouse Museum
- National Museum of the American Indian Heye Center
- National September 11 Museum
- New York City Fire Museum
- New York City Police Museum
- New York Transit Museum
- New-York Historical Society
- Noble Maritime Collection
- Old Stone House
- Roosevelt House
- South Street Seaport Museum
- Staten Island Museum
- Statue of Liberty Museum
- Statue of Liberty Museum
- Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site
- Transit Museum at Grand Central Terminal
- Trinity Church
- United Nations Headquarters
- Van Cortlandt House Museum
- Voelker Orth Museum, Bird Sanctuary, and Victorian Garden
- Waterfront Museum
- Weeksville Heritage Center
- Woodlawn Cemetery
- Wyckoff House Museum
House Museums
- Alice Austen House
- Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum
- Bowne House
- Conference House
- Dyckman Farmhouse
- Edgar Allan Poe Cottage
- Garibaldi-Meucci Museum
- Gracie Mansion
- Hamilton Grange National Memorial
- Historic Richmond Town
- King Manor Museum
- Kingsland Homestead / Queens Historical Society
- Lefferts Historic House
- Lewis Latimer House
- Louis Armstrong House Museum
- Merchant’s House Museum
- Morris-Jumel Mansion
- Museum of Bronx History at the Valentine-Varian House
- Old Stone House
- Queens County Farm Museum
- Renee and Chaim Gross Foundation
- Roosevelt House
- The Frick Collection
- The Morgan Library & Museum
- Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site
- Ukrainian Institute of America
- Van Cortlandt House Museum
- Vander Ende Onderdonk House
- Voelker Orth Museum, Bird Sanctuary, and Victorian Garden
- Wave Hill
- Weeksville Heritage Center
- Wyckoff House Museum
Kid-Friendly Museums
- American Museum of Natural History
- Children’s Museum of Manhattan
- Children’s Museum of the Arts
- FDNY Fire Zone
- Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum
- Lefferts Historic House
- National Museum of Mathematics
- New York Botanical Garden
- New York City Fire Museum
- New York Hall of Science
- New York Transit Museum
- New-York Historical Society
- Queens County Farm Museum
- Staten Island Children’s Museum
- Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art and Storytelling
- Waterfront Museum
Maritime Museums
- BLDG 92 at Brooklyn Navy Yard
- City Island Nautical Museum
- Fort Wadsworth
- Harbor Defense Museum
- Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum
- Maritime Industry Museum
- National Lighthouse Museum
- Noble Maritime Collection
- South Street Seaport Museum
- Waterfront Museum
Science Museums
- American Museum of Natural History
- Brooklyn Botanic Garden
- Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation at the American Museum of Natural History
- Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum
- National Museum of Mathematics
- New York Botanical Garden
- New York Hall of Science
- Staten Island Children’s Museum
- Staten Island Museum
School- or College-Based Museums
- Bard Graduate Center Gallery
- Center for Jewish History
- Columbia University Rare Book & Manuscript Library
- Fordham Museum of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Art
- Godwin-Ternbach Museum
- Grey Art Gallery
- Hostos Center for the Arts and Culture
- Hunter College Art Galleries
- Lehman College Art Gallery
- Maritime Industry Museum
- Museum at FIT
- New York School of Interior Design Gallery
- Parsons – The New School Gallery
- Pratt Manhattan Gallery
- Queens College Art Center
- Roosevelt House
- Shirley Fiterman Art Center, Brooklyn Manhattan Community College