Museums

As Florida's Cultural Capital, museums in The Palm Beaches tell our story and show what sets us apart as a destination. We have museums of art, history, science, trains, the ocean, and museums for children – even museums of Japanese gardens and culture. Visit our museums to catch a snapshot.

Museum Sites on the National Register of Historic Places (Where the Buildings are the History)

History in The Palm Beaches is not only part of who we were but of who we will become. We invite you to investigate and learn more about our cultural treasures worthy of preservation.

Boca Raton

  • Boca Raton Express Train Museum
    A historical three-for-one. A restored Florida East Coast depot from 1930, listed on the National Register as well, serves as the Museum. The Museum also offers guided tours of two 1947 Seaboard Air Line streamlined dining and lounge rail cars. Both cars are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
  • Boca Raton Historical Society & Museum
    The Boca Raton Old City Hall, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, houses the Society's museum. Features both permanent and special exhibits.

Delray Beach

  • Old School Square Cultural Arts Center
    The Center, on the National Register of Historic Places, consists of the restored 1913 Delray Elementary and 1925 Delray High School. The Elementary school houses the Cornell Museum of Art & American Culture, while the Crest Theatre is in the former High School. Both feature permanent and special exhibits.

Palm Beach

  • Flagler Museum
    This American castle served as one of the best wedding present ever given from groom to bride. Great oil and railroad tycoon, Henry Flagler, had Whitehall mansion built as a wedding gift for his new wife, but he used it as both a winter retreat and an office to overlook his Palm Beach hotel empire. The couple lived here from 1902-1913. After Flagler's death, it served as a hotel and then became a museum. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Features both permanent and special exhibits.

West Palm Beach

  • Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens
    A double historic venue. The house on the grounds is listed in the National Register of Historic Places along with the surrounding neighborhood; the El Cid Historic District. Features both permanent and special exhibits.
  • Armory Art Center
    Constructed in 1936, the Center did in fact serve as an armory for the National Guard, until 1982. The building was up for demolition soon after, but was saved when a coalition of artists, preservation activists, philanthropists, and the Palm Beach County Cultural Council all quickly moved to convert it into an art facility. The original armory on the Center's grounds is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Museums in Historical Palm Beach County Locations
The Palm Beaches have a rich, unique history. From a lighthouse built in the 1860s to the unveiling of a classic courthouse in the 2000s, we offer a look into the past, and past not so distant.

Belle Glade

  • Lawrence E. Will Museum
    The Museum's holdings are purely local, representing the upper "Glades" area and embracing the history of the peoples of southeastern shore of Lake Okeechobee.

Delray Beach

  • Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens
    Although the museum opened in 1977, the land it sits on has a interesting history. Back in 1905, the entire area was a pineapple farm run by a colony Japanese immigrants. The last surviving member of that colony, George Morikami, many years later, donated the land for use as a museum and formal gardens. Features both permanent and special exhibits.
  • Spady Cultural Heritage Museum
    A historic two-storied Mission-Revival styled home built in 1926 serves as the Museum's home. It's become a resource for people seeking information about Delray's African-American history.

Jupiter

  • Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse & Museum
    A bit of Palm Beach County trivia is answered with the lighthouse. It's oldest standing building in the county. It was first lit in 1860 to serve as an aid to ships trying to navigate the treacherous waters off Jupiter Inlet. Now it's on the National Register of Historic Places and a Federally-designated Outstanding Natural Area. Also part of the Museum is the DuBois Pioneer Home.

Lake Worth

  • Museum of the City of Lake Worth
    Museum displays, artifacts and exhibits that retell the history of the city incorporated in 1913, and feature six districts, buildings, and schools on the National Historic Register.

Palm Beach

  • Society of Four Arts
    Founded in 1936, the society is an organization that offers notable speakers, concerts, films, educational seminars, and special exhibitions.

West Palm Beach

  • Richard and Pat Johnson Palm Beach County Historical Museum
    Opened in 1916, just a few years after the founding of Palm Beach County, the courthouse featured a neoclassical design and style. Over the years, various additions and upgrades were added, but with one problem – they wrapped around the original building and soon engulfed it. Restoration efforts to tear away the additions and leave the original courthouse started in 2002 and finished in 2008. Features both permanent and special exhibits.
  • Palm Beach Maritime Museum
    The Museum offers tours to Peanut Island to see the once-secret nuclear bomb shelter made for President John F. Kennedy and the island's former Coast Guard Station.
  • Norton Museum of Art
    The Norton Museum has been recognized internationally for its travelling exhibitions and expansive collections of over 7,000 works, including European Impressionists and Modern Masters, American art from 1900 to the present, an extensive collection of works on paper and a rich body of sculpture. The Chinese collection offers superb examples of carved jades and bronze vessels and the contemporary collection embraces art from the 1960's on. Today's most revered and history's most innovative photographers are featured in the photography collection. Annually, the Norton Museum presents engaging and exciting collection and exhibition related talks, concerts, and programs for children and adults. The Museum Store offers an eclectic and artsy array of gifts and décor and Café 1451 at the Norton cleverly themes its delicious lunch menu after the exhibitions on view.
  • Yesteryear Village at the South Florida Fairgrounds
    This historic park, displaying buildings and artifacts from the 1850s to the 1950s. It features a large collection of early, original, and replicated buildings from throughout Florida and Palm Beach County.

Art and Style Museums (Our Artistic Side)
Arts in The Palm Beaches come alive with exhibits that touch on every interest in deep detail. Culture is what you find in The Palm Beaches.

Boca Raton

  • Boca Raton Museum of Art
    Contemporary art museum with more than 4,000 works in the permanent collection, ranging from modern masters, sculpture, pre-Columbian, African, photography, world-class traveling exhibitions.

Boynton Beach

  • Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History Various Exhibit Locations
    Although the Museum has no permanent location, it still offers tremendous exhibits on various American cultural aspects. Please check the website for exhibit locations.
  • Schoolhouse Children's Museum and Learning Center
    The Schoolhouse Children's Museum & Learning Center is dedicated to providing experiences, exhibits, educational programming and events that will foster an understanding of the "South Florida experience" in all children ages birth through 9 years of age.

Delray Beach

  • Cornell Museum of Art & American Culture
    Housed in the restored 1913 Delray Elementary School building at the Old School Square. Presenting rotating regional, national, and international fine art, craft and American culture exhibits, artist showcases and demonstrations.

Jupiter

  • Burt Reynolds & Friends Museum
    The museum honors and celebrates the local hometown boy that made it big in Hollywood. See items and artifacts from many of Reynolds' movies, as well as, a first-rate collection of sports and western memorabilia.

Tequesta

  • Lighthouse ARTCenter
    Comprehensive cultural center offering acclaimed local, national and international artists. Exhibitions, tours, cultural events, and museum store.

West Palm Beach