558 Best Sights in USA

Four centuries' worth of artifacts bring Brooklyn's story to life at this marvelous, renovated space inside an 1881 Queen Anne–style National Historic Landmark building. The center surveys the borough's changing identity through interactive exhibitions, landscape paintings, photographs, portraits of Brooklynites, and fascinating memorabilia. Upstairs, the Othmer Library’s spectacular reading room, with its stained-glass windows and carved wooden columns, transports visitors to an earlier era.

Pioneer relics, blacksmith and cowboy tools, guns, and Native American artifacts are displayed at the Central Montana Museum. The most popular new exhibit is a full-scale replica of a Torosaurus skull found just 65 miles away. Guided tours are available in the summer (Memorial Day to Labor Day).

This is an excellent first stop for an introduction to Ancestral Pueblo culture, as well as the area's development into a national park. Exhibits showcase original textiles and other artifacts, and a theater plays an informative film every 30 minutes. Rangers are available to answer your questions. The shop focuses on educational materials, but you can also find park-theme souvenirs. The museum sits at the south end of the park entrance road and overlooks Spruce Tree House. Nearby, you'll find park headquarters, a gift shop, a post office, a snack bar, and bathrooms.

Although housed in a modern-day brick complex, this institution was founded in 1773 and is the country's oldest museum. The collection is especially strong in South Carolina decorative arts, from silver to snuffboxes. There's also a large gallery devoted to natural history (don't miss the giant polar bear). Children love the permanent Civil War exhibition and the interactive "Kidstory" area, where they can try on reproduction clothing in a miniature historic house. The Historic Textiles Gallery features rotating displays that showcase everything from uniforms and flags to couture gowns, antique quilts, and needlework.

Becoming Chester County, the center's excellent permanent exhibition, uses its collection of 70,000 historical objects and modern interactive displays to tell compelling stories of the challenges and opportunities Delaware Valley inhabitants faced from the late 1600s to today. Galleries address the Lenape people, the American Revolution, slavery, industrialization, women's suffrage, immigration, and other issues, often using the examples of local residents. The collections are gorgeous, including furniture, quilts, period clothing, tall-case clocks, and cross-stitch samplers. A hands-on history lab lets kids try some old-style tools and dress up in a hoop skirt, and the center's library has extensive records and photographs. The society's two-building complex includes a former horticultural hall that was the site of the first women's rights convention in Pennsylvania.

Immerse yourself in all things Chico at this small but engaging museum near Chico State University. Past exhibits have surveyed the city's American Indian legacy, its former Chinatowns, and area movers and shakers.

Since the Naval Air Warfare Station is now closed to the public, this museum—opened in 2018—gives an alternative glimpse into the history, technology, and weaponry at China Lake. More than 20 exhibits display missiles, aircraft, rockets, and other full-spectrum weapons. There is no charge to visit the gift shop and exterior fighter jets.

Because it's in El Pueblo Plaza, you might assume that this museum features Mexican American art, but it's actually the last surviving structure of L.A.'s original Chinatown. Three floors of exhibits reveal the different cultures that have called this area home, as well as how the original residents paved the way for what is now a vibrant and varied Chinatown. Rotating exhibits feature the work of Chinese American artists.

Learn about the fierce Chiricahua Apaches and the fearless leaders Cochise and Geronimo at this research center, located in downtown Willcox. Other interesting tidbits about the area can be found in displays featuring the U.S. Cavalry, a nice collection of rocks and minerals, and relics of the famed Butterfield Overland Stage Route. One oddity the museum points out is that the memoirs of Civil War general Orlando Willcox, for whom the town was named, don't even mention a visit to Arizona.

In this angular 1980s building just west of Temple Square, you can view artifacts and works of art relating to the history and doctrine of the Mormon faith, including personal belongings of church leaders Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. There are also samples of Mormon coins and scrip used as standard currency in Utah during the 1800s and beautiful examples of quilting, embroidery, and other handicrafts. Upstairs galleries exhibit religious and secular works by Mormon artists from all over the world. In the courtyard out front, you can visit the Deuel Cabin, an 1847 pine structure that's one of two surviving homes built by Salt Lake City's earliest pioneers. The courtyard also has access to the church's Family History Library, where anyone is welcome to research their genealogy. 

Subway tokens, Statue of Liberty figurines, and other artifacts you might find in a New York City time capsule crowd the displays of this quirky, community-run museum inside a former bodega. While exhibitions rotate, one that's found permanence is of actual children's letters addressed to Spider-Man, sent to his comic book address in Queens. 

The Native American wing of this museum contains a beautiful collection of northwestern California basketry. Artifacts from Eureka's Victorian, logging, and maritime eras fill the rest of the space.

The headquarters of Astoria's historical society, the graciously restored Queen Ann–style Flavel House offers a glimpse of what life was like for the wealthy in the late 19th century. The organization's other sites include the Heritage Museum ( 1618 Exchange St.), which occupies a 1904 Colonial Revival building that originally served as city hall and now contains two floors of exhibits detailing the history of the early pioneers, Native Americans, and logging and marine industries of Clatsop County, the oldest American settlement west of the Mississippi. Artifacts include finely crafted 19th-century Chinook and Clatsop baskets, otter pelts, a re-created Prohibition-era saloon, and historic logging and fishing tools. There's also the small but engaging Oregon Film Museum ( 732 Duane St.), housed in the old Clatsop County Jail, which celebrates the state's long history of filmmaking and contains artifacts from and displays about prior productions. The building featured prominently in the cult classic The Goonies. The museum also showcases such classics as The General, The Great Race, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Paint Your Wagon, Animal House, Free Willy, Kindergarten Cop, and Twilight. And the Uppertown Firefighters Museum ( 2968 Marine Dr.) is filled with old equipment, including hand-pulled and horse-drawn fire engines, and a collection of photos of some of the town's most notable fires.

At the junction of NM 434 and NM 518, make a right and head a couple of miles north to Cleveland Roller Mill Museum, a fixture in Mora Valley, which served as the region's main flour mill in the late 1800s. Milling demonstrations are held over the Labor Day Millfest, and in summer you can visit the artists' cooperative, where local artisans sell their sculpture, weaving, jewelry, and other crafts. The museum is run by the proprietors of surrounding Cassidy Farms, a nursery specializing in native conifers and shrubs.

Detailing city history, the Clewiston Museum tells stories not only of Big Sugar and the Herbert Hoover Dike construction, but also of the World War II British Royal Air Force pilots training at the Clewiston airfield. Artifacts from the Seminole tribe and even fossils found by a local paleontologist are on display, too. Historical ecotours are held on Friday 9–4:30 ($25) and include bird-watching, lunch, and a tour through the museum and nearby Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Seminole Museum.

Operated by the History Museum of Mobile, this new branch, which opened in 2023 in a newly constructed building in the Africatown historic area of Mobile, tells the story of the Clotilda, the last known slave ship, which sailed into Mobile Bay with 110 enslaved people in 1860, more than 50 years after the Atlantic slave trade had been outlawed. The wreck of the ship itself was discovered in the Mobile River only in 2019, and the museum includes many artifacts that were found and preserved from the wreck. But the exhibit mostly focuses on the lives of the 110 people who survived the sailing (and their descendants), who eventually made their homes as free people in Mobile's Africatown. Because of the size of the facility, advance reservations are required and walk-ins are not allowed.

To get a feel for local history, stroll the vignettes and temporary exhibits inside this museum, as well as the parklike displays outside it. A Seminole chickee village, native plant garden, swamp buggy, reconstructed 19th-century fort, steam logging locomotive, and more capture important Naples-area developments from prehistoric times to the World War II era. You can even pack a lunch and picnic in the shady backyard.

Now located in Bullhead City Community Park, the Colorado River Museum displays the rich past of the tristate region where Nevada, Arizona, and California converge. Earnest volunteers guide you through the haphazard array of artifacts from the Mojave tribe and the gold rush era in nearby Oatman. There are also exhibits on the building of Davis Dam, 18th-century explorer Father Francisco Garcés, and the experimental use of camels in the area by a pre–Civil War U.S. Army.

On the other side of the river from Fort Yuma, the Civil War–period quartermaster depot resupplied army posts to the north and east and served as a distribution point for steamboat freight headed overland to Arizona forts. The 1853 home of riverboat captain G. A. Johnson is the depot's earliest building and the centerpiece of this park. The residence also served as a weather bureau and home for customs agents, among other functions, and the self-guided tour through the house provides a complete history. Also on display are antique surreys and more "modern" modes of transportation like a 1931 Model A Ford pickup. You can visit a re-creation of the Commanding Officer's Quarters, complete with period furnishings. A popular Italian restaurant, Autentico Sapore, is also here.

A convention of delegates met here in 1849 to draft the first state constitution. The stone building, which has served as a school, a courthouse, and the county seat, is a city-run museum furnished as it was during the constitutional convention. The extensive grounds outside the hall surround the Old Monterey Jail.

Exhibits and artwork at this expansive, contemporary museum just off Interstate 84 as you approach The Dalles from the west highlight the geological history of the Columbia Gorge, back 40 million years when volcanoes, landslides, and floods carved out the area. History exhibits focus on 10,000 years of Native American life and exploration of the region by white settlers, from Lewis and Clark to the early-20th-century engineers who developed the Historic Columbia River Highway. The paved, multi-use Dalles Riverfront Trail connects the museum to downtown and the Dalles Dam, 10 miles upriver.

A petroglyph whose eyes seem to look straight at you, "She Who Watches" or "Tsagaglalal" is the logo for this museum. Sitting among the dramatic basaltic cliffs on the north bank of the Columbia River Gorge, the museum explores the life of the Gorge: its history, Native culture, architecture, legends, and much more. Younger guests enjoy the the 37-foot-high fish wheel, a device like a mill wheel equipped with baskets for catching fish, from the 19th century. Historians appreciate studying the water route of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. There's also an eye-opening exhibit that examines current environmental impacts on the area.

Dioramas of Long Beach towns illustrate the history of southwestern Washington, and other displays cover Native Americans; the influx of traders, missionaries, and pioneers; and the contemporary workers of the fishing, agriculture, and forest industries. The original Ilwaco Freight Depot and a Pullman car from the Clamshell Railroad highlight rail history. Also on display is a 26-foot surf boat used by the Klipsan Beach Lifesaving Service Station.

Part antiques store, part museum, this eclectic site boasts the world’s largest collection of lunch boxes and other pop-culture treasures. There are seven “museums” or displays within the collective: The Lunch Box Museum, The Georgia Radio Museum, The Royal Crown Cola Museum, The Chero-Cola Museum, The Nehi Drink Museum, The Tom Huston Peanut Museum and The Car Museum. Evoking nostalgia while showcasing the industrial history of his hometown is key to founder and curator Allen Woodall, Jr.’s vision. The soft drink brands and Tom’s Snacks originated in Columbus in the early 20th century.

The original contents of Emerson's private study, as well as the world's largest collection of Thoreau artifacts, reside in this 1930 Colonial Revival building just east of the town center. The museum provides a good overview of the town's history, from its original Native American settlement to the present. Highlights include Native American artifacts, furnishings from Thoreau's Walden Pond cabin, and one of the two lanterns hung at Boston's Old North Church to signal that the British were coming by sea. Those with kids should ask for kid-friendly guides, scavenger hunts, and drawing sets.

The Copper Village Museum and Art Center houses displays on the area's history along with local artwork. The center also hosts musical performances and special events.

Located in the Cordova Center, the Cordova Historical Museum documents early explorers to the area, Alaska Native culture, the Kennicott Mine and Copper River and Northwestern Railway era, and the growth of the commercial fishing industry. Additionally, the museum often features touring exhibits by Alaskan and (occasionally) non-Alaskan artists. The gift shop sells local postcards, Cordova and Alaska gifts, and regional history books.

Adjacent to the visitor's center and ferry to Cape Lookout, this towering wood structure feels like the private hunting lodge of a well-to-do club of duck hunters, and you're invited to relax in the library stocked with books by outdoor enthusiasts and to browse the collections of duck decoys, patterned quilts, and Harkers Island ephemera. Be sure to walk to the top of Lookout Tower for views across the sound to Shackleford Banks and South Core Banks. A gift shop features local art built from driftwood and seashells.

The neoclassical First Bank of Commerce building, constructed in 1910, holds the headquarters and archives of the Coronado Historical Association, a museum, the Coronado Visitor Center, and the Coronado Museum Store. The free museum's collection celebrates Coronado's history with photographs and displays of its formative events and major sights. A guided tour of the area's architecturally and historically significant buildings departs from the museum lobby on Sunday at 11 am and Tuesday at 1 pm and costs $20 for adults (reservations required). Alternatively, pick up a self-guided tour in the museum's shop.

Located in the Golden North Hotel building, this impressive (and free) scrimshaw museum highlights more than 40 exquisitely carved walrus tusks and other exhibits that detail Alaska's history. The museum was founded by Dennis Corrington, a onetime Iditarod Race runner, who passed away in July 2021.