List of museums and cultural institutions in New York City
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New York City is home to hundreds of cultural institutions and historic sites, many of which are internationally known. This list contains the most famous or well-regarded organizations, based on their mission.
Museums
Also included are non-profit art galleries, arts centers and cultural centers with galleries.
Encyclopedic
Name |
Neighborhood |
Borough |
Type |
Summary |
Metropolitan Museum of Art | Museum Mile | Manhattan | Art | One of the world's largest art museums; includes American art and decorative arts, European, African, Asian, Ancient Egyptian, Roman and Greek art, Byzantine and Islamic art, modern art |
Brooklyn Museum |
Crown Heights |
Brooklyn |
Art |
Collections include American art, Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Near Eastern art, feminist, European and art of the Pacific Islands. |
Staten Island Museum | West New Brighton | Staten Island | Multiple | Natural history, art, history, science; part of Snug Harbor Cultural Center |
Bronx Museum of the Arts |
Concourse Village |
Bronx |
Art |
Focuses on contemporary and 20th-century art |
Queens Museum | Corona | Queens | Art | Formerly Queens Museum of Art; includes a collection of Tiffany glass |
Region and tradition
African and African American
Asian and Asian American
Indigenous and African Caribbean in "Latin America"
Name |
Neighborhood |
Borough |
Type |
Summary |
Americas Society |
Upper East Side |
Manhattan |
Art |
Exhibits of historic and contemporary art from Latin America, the Caribbean and Canada |
El Museo del Barrio |
Museum Mile |
Manhattan |
Art |
Latin American and Caribbean art, with an emphasis on works from Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rican community in New York City. |
The Clemente Soto Velez Cultural and Educational Center |
Lower East Side |
Manhattan |
Art |
Performance, visual arts, and community events that reflect the cultural diversity of the Lower East Side |
European Jewish and Jewish American
Name |
Neighborhood |
Borough |
Type |
Summary |
American Sephardi Federation |
Lower Manhattan |
Manhattan |
Ethnic – Jewish |
Exhibits about the heritage of all Sephardim from the Iberian Peninsula and the Balkans, to the Jews of North Africa and Muslim lands including Iraq, Iran, Syria, Turkey, Yemen, Ethiopia and Bukharian Jews |
Anne Frank Center USA |
Lower Manhattan |
Manhattan |
History |
website, uses the diary and spirit of Anne Frank to promote tolerance and human rights |
Bernard Museum of Judaica |
Upper East Side |
Manhattan |
Jewish |
website, located in Temple Emanu-El, Jewish art, religious ornaments and temple memorabilia |
Center for Jewish History |
Lower Manhattan |
Manhattan |
Jewish |
Jewish history and culture around the world |
Derfner Judaica Museum |
Riverdale |
Bronx]]Jewish |
Includes the art collection at the Hebrew Home at Riverdale |
Eldridge Street Synagogue |
Lower East Side |
Manhattan |
Jewish |
American Jewish history and culture in a restored historic synagogue |
Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion |
Greenwich Village |
Manhattan
Jewish |
website, part of Hebrew Union College; art exploring Jewish identity, history, culture, and experience |
Jewish Children's Museum |
Crown Heights |
Brooklyn |
Children's / ethnic Jewish |
Jewish heritage, fostering tolerance and understanding |
Jewish Museum (New York) |
Museum Mile |
Manhattan |
Jewish |
Modern and contemporary Jewish art and history |
Jewish Theological Seminary |
Upper West Side |
Manhattan |
Jewish |
website, free exhibitions from the library's collections of Jewish heritage |
Living Torah Museum |
Borough Park |
Brooklyn |
Jewish |
Ancient artifacts mentioned in the Torah, items from the Biblical period |
Museum of Jewish Heritage | Battery Park City | Manhattan | Jewish | Modern Jewish history and the Holocaust |
Yeshiva University Museum | Chelsea | Manhattan | Jewish | Also an archaeology, history and art museum focused on Jewish subjects |
Western by era
Traditional European art
Modern art
Name |
Neighborhood |
Borough |
Type |
Summary |
Guggenheim Museum |
Museum Mile |
Manhattan |
Art |
Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, early Modern and contemporary art |
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) | Midtown Manhattan | Manhattan | Art | Modern art including architecture and design, drawings, painting, sculpture, photography, prints, illustrated books and artist's books, film and electronic media |
Neue Galerie | Museum Mile | Manhattan | Art | Gallery of early-20th-century German and Austrian art and design |
Whitney Museum of American Art | Meatpacking District | Manhattan | Art | 20th-century American art |
Other Western and Native American
Name |
Neighborhood |
Borough |
Type |
Summary |
Austrian Cultural Forum New York |
Midtown Manhattan |
Manhattan |
Culture |
website, culture center with exhibition gallery |
Instituto Cervantes New York |
Midtown Manhattan |
Manhattan |
Culture |
website, culture center, conferences, largest Spanish library in New York, exhibition gallery |
Czech Centre New York |
Upper East Side |
Manhattan |
Art |
website, exhibits of Czech artists, located in Bohemian National Hall |
Swiss Institute | Lower Manhattan | Manhattan | Art | website, contemporary art |
Scandinavia House – The Nordic Center in America | Midtown Manhattan | Manhattan | Cultural | Art, design, and historical exhibitions of the Nordic countries |
Ukrainian Museum | East Village | Manhattan | Ethnic – Ukrainian-American | Ukrainian heritage in America |
Garibaldi-Meucci Museum |
Rosebank |
Staten Island |
Ethnic |
Home of Italian politician Giuseppe Garibaldi and inventor Antonio Meucci, celebrates Italian American culture and heritage |
American Folk Art Museum |
Upper West Side |
Manhattan |
Art |
American folk art |
George Gustav Heye Center |
Financial District |
Manhattan |
Native American |
Part of the Smithsonian; Native American history, culture and art |
Goethe-Institut, New York |
Lower East Side |
Manhattan |
German culture |
Part of the Goethe-Institut worldwide association |
Artistic medium
Books, drawings, illustrations, prints
Name |
Neighborhood |
Borough |
Type |
Summary |
Columbia University Rare Book & Manuscript Library |
Upper West Side |
Manhattan |
Library |
website, two galleries with free exhibitions from the collections |
Grolier Club |
Upper East Side |
Manhattan |
Literary |
Public exhibitions from its book and literary collections |
Drawing Center |
SoHo |
Manhattan |
Art |
Contemporary and historical drawings |
Museum of American Illustration | Midtown Manhattan | Manhattan | Art | website, part of the Society of Illustrators; American illustration |
International Print Center New York |
Chelsea |
Manhattan |
Art |
Exhibition and understanding of fine art prints |
The Morgan Library & Museum | Midtown Manhattan | Manhattan | Art | Includes books and printed materials, prints, and drawings of European artists, material from ancient Egypt and medieval liturgical objects, ancient Near Eastern cylinder seals, music manuscripts |
New York Public Library | Midtown Manhattan | Manhattan | Multiple | Exhibitions at the main branch about art, history, culture, photography from its collections |
Name |
Neighborhood |
Borough |
Type |
Summary |
Alice Austen House |
Rosebank |
Staten Island |
Historic house |
Home of photographer Alice Austen, also features photography exhibitions |
BRIC |
Fort Greene |
Brooklyn |
Art |
website, contemporary art |
Eyebeam Art and Technology Center |
Chelsea |
Manhattan |
Art |
Art and technology exhibitions, resident artistries |
Aperture Foundation |
Chelsea |
Manhattan |
Photography |
Photography book and magazine publisher, photography exhibitions, workshops, artist talks, education programs |
International Center of Photography |
Midtown Manhattan |
Manhattan |
Photography |
Photography exhibits |
Paley Center for Media | Midtown Manhattan | Manhattan | Media | Cultural, creative and social significance of television, radio, the Internet and emerging media platforms |
Museum of the Moving Image | Astoria | Queens | Media | Art, history, technique and technology of film, television, digital media, video games |
Sony Wonder Technology Lab | Midtown Manhattan | Manhattan | Technology | Interactive technology and media entertainment |
Sculpture
Design, decorative arts, architecture
Name |
Neighborhood |
Borough |
Type |
Summary |
Bard Graduate Center |
Upper West Side |
Manhattan |
Art |
Annually organizes two to three exhibitions related to decorative arts, architecture and design |
AIGA National Design Center |
Flatiron District |
Manhattan |
Art |
website, public gallery of the AIGA dedicated to presenting examples of outstanding contemporary design |
Center for Architecture |
Greenwich Village |
Manhattan |
Art |
Exhibits of architecture, urban planning, urban design and environmental planning |
Cooper–Hewitt, National Design Museum |
Museum Mile |
Manhattan |
Design |
Part of the Smithsonian, decorative arts and design |
Museum of Arts and Design | Upper West Side | Manhattan | Art | Features contemporary hand-made objects in a variety of media, including clay, glass, metal, fiber and wood; located at Columbus Circle |
Museum at FIT | Chelsea | Manhattan | Textile | Fashion museum, part of Fashion Institute of Technology |
National Academy of Design | Museum Mile | Manhattan | Art | Exhibits of art and architecture from its collections |
New York School of Interior Design Gallery | Midtown Manhattan | Manhattan | Art | website, free gallery with exhibits about interior design |
Parsons The New School for Design Gallery | Greenwich Village | Manhattan | Art | Exhibits of art and design in the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center |
Skyscraper Museum | Battery Park City | Manhattan | Architecture | Currently the only museum in the world dedicated to skyscrapers |
Entertainment
Amusements
Science
History
American history, local history, historic monuments
Name |
Neighborhood |
Borough |
Type |
Summary |
Ellis Island Museum |
Ellis Island |
Manhattan |
History |
Tours by boat from Battery Park in Manhattan or Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey; immigration experience and history of the immigrants |
Federal Hall |
Lower Manhattan |
Manhattan |
History |
First capitol of the United States of America and the site of George Washington's first inauguration in 1789 |
Fraunces Tavern |
Lower Manhattan |
Manhattan |
History |
Reconstruction of a tavern with a prominent role in pre-Revolution and American Revolution history |
General Grant National Memorial |
Upper West Side |
Manhattan |
Biographical |
Mausoleum of General Ulysses Grant and his wife; displays about his life and Presidency |
Ground Zero Museum Workshop |
Lower Manhattan |
Manhattan |
History |
website, history of the September 11 attacks and the workers at the World Trade Center site |
Lower East Side Tenement Museum |
Lower East Side |
Manhattan |
History |
Immigrants' experience |
Museum of Public Relations |
Midtown |
Manhattan |
Media |
website, a public relations museum and reference library, part of Baruch College’s Newman Library Archives and Special Collections, open to the public by appointment for tours, guest lectures and research |
Museum of the City of New York | Museum Mile | Manhattan | Multiple | Art and local history |
National September 11 Memorial & Museum | Financial District | Manhattan | Memorial | Memorial and museum dedicated to victims of 9/11 attacks |
New-York Historical Society | Upper West Side | Manhattan | History | History of New York and the United States |
Statue of Liberty | Liberty Island | Manhattan | History | Accessible by boat from Battery Park in Manhattan and Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey |
Tribute WTC Visitors' Center | Lower Manhattan | Manhattan | History | History of the September 11 attacks and tours of the World Trade Center site |
Trinity Church | Lower Manhattan | Manhattan | History | History of the church, changing art, religious and cultural exhibits |
Brooklyn Historical Society |
Brooklyn Heights |
Brooklyn |
Local history |
History and culture of Brooklyn |
City Reliquary | Williamsburg | Brooklyn | Local history | website, memorabilia and artifacts about New York City |
Hall of Fame for Great Americans |
University Heights |
Bronx |
Hall of fame |
Part of Bronx Community College, National Landmark founded as a Pantheon honoring historically significant American men and women |
Bayside Historical Society |
Bayside |
Queens |
Local history |
website, located in the Officer's Club in Fort Totten |
Greater Astoria Historical Society |
Astoria |
Queens |
Local history |
|
Military, police, fire
Name |
Neighborhood |
Borough |
Type |
Summary |
Castle Clinton |
Lower Manhattan |
Manhattan |
History |
Fort that contains a museum which is administered by the National Park Service, and is a departure point for visitors to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island |
Castle Williams |
Governors Island |
Manhattan |
Military |
Tours of the 1807 fort and prison |
FDNY Fire Zone |
Midtown |
Manhattan |
Firefighting |
website, fire safety learning center, located in Rockefeller Center |
Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum |
Hell's Kitchen |
Manhattan |
Military |
Showcases the World War II aircraft carrier USS Intrepid, Space Shuttle Enterprise, submarine USS Growler, a Concorde supersonic airplane, helicopters and military aircraft |
New York City Fire Museum | SoHo | Manhattan | Firefighting | Historical and modern firefighting vehicles, equipment, uniforms |
New York City Police Museum | Financial District | Manhattan | Law enforcement | Closed in 2014, plans unclear |
Harbor Defense Museum |
Bay Ridge |
Brooklyn |
Military |
Located in Fort Hamilton, 19th-century fort with exhibits of NY military history |
Hall of Fame for Great Americans |
University Heights |
Bronx |
Hall of fame |
Part of Bronx Community College, National Landmark founded as a Pantheon honoring historically significant American men and women |
Fort Totten |
Bayside |
Queens |
Military |
Tours of the Civil War-era fort |
Fort Wadsworth |
Fort Wadsworth |
Staten Island |
Military |
Exhibits and tours of the mid-19th-century fort |
Transportation and maritime
Name |
Neighborhood |
Borough |
Type |
Summary |
New York Transit Museum | Brooklyn Heights | Brooklyn | Transportation | Subways, trolleys and buses |
Midtown Manhattan | Manhattan | Transportation | Subways, trolleys and buses; annex of main Brooklyn location, located in Grand Central Terminal |
City Island Nautical Museum |
City Island |
Bronx |
Maritime |
website, operated by the City Island Historical Society |
Maritime Industry Museum |
Silver Beach |
Bronx |
Maritime |
Located in Fort Schuyler, history of the US maritime industry including commercial shipping, the merchant marine, and the port of New York |
Noble Maritime Collection | West New Brighton | Staten Island | Maritime | Part of Snug Harbor Cultural Center, houseboat and artist studio |
South Street Seaport Museum | Financial District | Manhattan | Maritime | Includes exhibition galleries, a working 19th-century print shop, an archeology museum and several historic museum ships, including the four-masted Peking |
Waterfront Museum | Red Hook | Brooklyn | Maritime | website, historic floating barge museum in Red Hook |
Financial
Historic houses
Name |
Neighborhood |
Borough |
Type |
Summary |
Bartow-Pell Mansion |
Pelham Bay |
Bronx |
Historic house |
Mid-19th-century period mansion and gardens |
Billiou-Stillwell-Perine House |
Old Town |
Staten Island |
Historic house |
17th-century Dutch colonial house, operated by Historic Richmond Town |
Bowne House | Flushing | Queens | Historic house | Oldest house in Queens, dates back to the mid-1600s |
Conference House |
Tottenville |
Staten Island |
Historic house |
Only pre-Revolutionary manor house still surviving in New York City |
Dyckman House |
Inwood |
Manhattan |
Historic house |
Late 18th-century farmhouse, the oldest remaining farmhouse on Manhattan island |
Edgar Allan Poe Cottage |
Fordham |
Bronx |
Historic house |
1840s house where author Edgar Allan Poe lived |
Gracie Mansion |
Upper East Side |
Manhattan |
Historic house |
Official residence of the Mayor of New York City |
Hamilton Grange National Memorial |
Hamilton Heights |
Manhattan |
Historic house |
Relocated early 19th-century home of Alexander Hamilton |
King Manor |
Jamaica |
Queens |
Historic house |
Early 19th-century period home of Rufus King, a signer of the United States Constitution |
Kingsland Homestead |
Flushing |
Queens |
Historic house |
Member of the Historic House Trust, operated by the Queens Historical Society; Victorian period house, local history exhibits |
Lefferts Historic House |
Park Slope |
Brooklyn |
Historic house |
Located in Prospect Park, 1820s period house |
Merchant's House Museum | Greenwich Village | Manhattan | Historic house | 19th-century family town home |
Morris-Jumel Mansion | Washington Heights | Manhattan | Historic house | 18th-century period mansion used as headquarters for both sides in the American Revolution |
Mount Vernon Hotel Museum | Midtown Manhattan | Manhattan | Historic house | Early 19th period-century hotel |
Seguine Mansion | South Shore | Staten Island | Historic house | Mid-19th-century mansion |
Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site | Flatiron District | Manhattan | Historic house | Recreated 1865 period brownstone home where Theodore Roosevelt lived as a child |
Valentine-Varian House | Norwood | Bronx | Historic house | Houses the Museum of Bronx History, operated by the Bronx Historical Society |
Van Cortlandt House Museum | Riverdale | Bronx | Historic house | 18th-century period manor house |
Vander Ende-Onderdonk House | Ridgewood | Queens | Historic house | Oldest Dutch Colonial stone house in New York City, operated by the Greater Ridgewood Historical Society |
Voelker Orth Museum | Flushing | Queens | Historic house | Family home dating back to 1891 |
Wyckoff House | Canarsie | Brooklyn | Historic house | Dutch saltbox frame house dating back to 1652 |
Queens County Farm Museum | Glen Oaks | Queens | Farm | Working farm dating back to 1697 |
Old Stone House | Park Slope | Brooklyn | Historic house | Reconstructed 1699 Dutch stone farmhouse with Revolutionary War ties, focuses on evolving histories of Brooklyn, New York and the United States |
Historic Richmond Town |
Richmondtown |
Staten Island |
Living |
Over 30 historic buildings and sites dating from the late 17th to the early 20th century; includes the Lake-Tysen House and Voorlezer's House |
Children's
Contemporary spaces
Contemporary museums
Contemporary galleries
Neighborhood art centers
Miscellaneous
Name |
Neighborhood |
Borough |
Type |
Summary |
American Academy of Arts and Letters |
Washington Heights |
Manhattan |
Art |
Exhibitions of its members in American literature, music, and art |
Cooper Union Galleries |
East Village |
Manhattan |
Art |
Several galleries with works by students, faculty and guest artists in art, architecture, design, photography |
Fisher Landau Center |
Long Island City |
Queens |
Art |
Contemporary art exhibitions |
Fordham University Museum of Greek, Estrucan and Roman Art |
Fordham |
Bronx |
Art |
website, collection of ancient antiquities in William D. Walsh Family Library of Fordham University |
Front Room Gallery | Williamsburg | Brooklyn | Art | Contemporary art gallery |
Godwin-Ternbach Museum |
Kew Gardens Hills |
Queens |
Art |
Part of Queens College, City University of New York; collection includes painting, sculpture and decorative arts, prints and drawings, and ethnographic arts |
Grey Art Gallery |
Greenwich Village |
Manhattan |
Art |
website, part of New York University |
Lehman College Art Gallery |
Bronx |
Bronx |
Art |
website, part of Lehman College |
Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery | Upper West Side | Manhattan | Art | website, part of Columbia University |
Morbid Anatomy Museum | Gowanus | Brooklyn | Art | Museum and exhibition space focused on death, mourning and the macabre |
Mmuseumm | TriBeCa | Manhattan | History | Curated display of artifacts housed in a freight elevator. |
Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space | East Village | Manhattan | History | History of grassroots urban space activism |
Onassis Cultural Center | Midtown Manhattan | Manhattan | Art | website, cultural and artistic activities concerning ancient, Byzantine and modern Hellenic civilization |
Poppenhusen Institute | College Point | Queens | History | Community cultural center with historic and cultural exhibits |
Proteus Gowanus | Gowanus | Brooklyn | Art | Contemporary art gallery |
Queens College Art Center | Flushing | Queens | Art | website, part of Queens College |
Tibor de Nagy Gallery | Midtown Manhattan | Manhattan | Art | Contemporary painting, sculpture and photography; presents works from the gallery's rich history |
United Nations Headquarters | Midtown Manhattan | Manhattan | Historic building | Includes exhibits on such topics as peacekeeping operations, decolonization and disarmament, and the United Nations Art Collection |
Leslie Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art |
SoHo |
Manhattan |
Art |
website, contemporary and historical gay-related art |
Museum of Sex | Rose Hill | Manhattan | Sex | History, evolution and cultural significance of human sexuality |
Defunct museums
- American Museum of Immigration, Liberty Island
- Barnum's American Museum, Manhattan
- Chelsea Art Museum, Manhattan, closed in 2011
- Con Edison Energy Museum, Manhattan[1][2]
- Forbes Galleries, closed in 2014
- Guggenheim Soho, Manhattan[3]
- Kurdish Library and Museum, Brooklyn
- Micro Museum, Brooklyn, closed exhibit space
- Museum of the American Piano, Manhattan, website
- Museum of Biblical Art, closed in 2015
- Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art, closed in 2012, collections now part of the Society of Illustrators
- Museum of Primitive Art, closed in 1976, collections now part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
- National Museum of Catholic Art and History, closed in 2010
- New York Jazz Museum, Manhattan
- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex, opened in Chelsea in 2008, closed in 2010
- Sports Museum of America, Manhattan, opened in 2008, closed in 2009
- UBS Art Gallery, Manhattan[4]
Proposed museums
Zoos and gardens
Lincoln Center
Music
Theaters
Historically significant sites
Historic House Trust
Most of the following are Registered Historic Places covered in the county lists.
National Parks of New York Harbor
![](../I/m/USA_grants_tomb.jpg)
Grant's tomb, 2004
Despite its name, National Parks of New York Harbor does not oversee any national parks proper.
Other historic sites
The following are already-listed Registered Historic Places.
World Trade Center site
Libraries
See also
References
External links