November 2010

Take an electric train trip through the peaceful, picturesque Montezuma Hills over the original historic main line of the Sacramento Northern Railway. As a living history museum, the Western Railway Museum gives visitors the opportunity to ride authentic historic streetcars and interurban electric trains from all over California and the western United States. Streetcars loop the shaded picnic grounds. Interurban cars run over the restored main line of the old Sacramento Northern Railway. With over 50 historic cars on display, railway exhibits, and the large, shaded picnic grounds, the Western Railway Museum is ideal for family and group outings.

A young physician named John Gorrie moved to Apalachicola in the early 1800s when it was a prominent port of trade, commerce, and shipping in Florida. Gorrie served as postmaster, city treasurer, town councilman, and bank director. Concern for his yellow fever patients motivated Gorrie to invent a method for cooling their rooms. He became a pioneer in the field of air conditioning and refrigeration by inventing a machine that made ice, and received the first U.S. Patent for mechanical refrigeration in 1851. A replica of his ice-making machine is on display at the museum, as well as exhibits chronicling the colorful history of Apalachicola, which played an important role in Florida's economic development.

The John G. Riley Center now features a museum chronicling African-American history and culture in the region.

In 1978, through the efforts of local preservationists, the Riley House became the second house in Florida owned by a black person to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places, the first being the Mary McLeod Bethune house in Volusia County. In 1995, a group of Tallahassee citizens established a museum at the Riley House dedicated to African-American history and culture. This facility draws more visitors and tourist into the area while providing a historically diverse attraction. 

The museum displays 12,000 years of history in the Currents of Time exhibit or explore snakes, turtles, birds, owls, baby alligators and other native creatures in the new animal exhibition, the Florida Naturalist's Center. Also, the museum offers daily public programs, a planetarium, and frequent events for the whole family.

The Loudoun Museum preserves and interprets the artifacts of Loudoun’s three-century journey to let both Loudouners and visitors gain a sense of what Loudoun has been as it continues to evolve. Visitors to the museum may view the portraits of Isabella Elgin Paxson and her son, Charles Paxon, executed by plain painter, Timothy A. Herrington. The Elgin and Paxson families had deep roots in Loudoun County. Charles, a member of Mosby’s Rangers, was killed at the battle of Loudoun Heights in January, 1864.

The George C. Marshall International Center was founded to preserve Dodona Manor, the beloved home of George and Katherine Marshall, and to further the legacy of General Marshall, considered by many to be America’s hero to the world. After Marshall’s death in 1959, his home and property fell into significant disrepair. Normal upkeep and general maintenance were delayed, flowerbeds and lawns became overgrown, and the property took on a reclusive air. In 1995 a group of concerned citizens led by Leesburg resident B. Powell Harrison organized the George C. Marshall Home Preservation Fund in order to save the house and grounds from demolition. Restoration of Dodona Manor’s exterior began in 1999 funded by grants from the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Federal Republic of Germany, and private donations.

The museum interprets the region's rich history, art, and culture by exhibiting and collecting relevant objects and artwork.

Some exhibits that are housed in the museum are "California Landscapes from the Sonoma County Museum Collection", "Artistry in Wood", and "Candida Hofer: Interiors".

One of downtown Miami's most elegant high-rises, the 13-story Ingraham Building is an outstanding example of the Italian Renaissance style interpreted for a large commercial building. With rusticated stone walls, wrought iron decoration, double-arched windows, and hand-painted wooden eaves, the building evokes the design of a Florentine palace. The building was constructed for the Model Land Company, the real estate division of Henry Flagler's Florida East Coast Railway. The Ingraham Building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

Visitors can go to the museum to discover the colorful history of Santa Monica. Preparations are underway for a new museum that will hold a main lobby, research library, changing gallery, permanent gallery, collections storage, and staff & volunteer work area.

An expansive museum examining the history of southern Florida from the arrival of the first European settlers to the present day, the Historical Museum of Southern Florida offers a comprehensive look into the state's past. The particularly noteworthy permanent exhibition "Tropical Dreams: A People's History of South Florida" investigates the patterns of immigration and cultural adaptation that characterize the area's history.

The Historical Museum of Southern Florida tells the stories of South Florida and the Caribbean. The museum promotes understanding of the past in order to inform the present and create a better quality of life. The Historical Museum is one of the largest private, regional history museums in the country, recognized for excellence in programming and management by the Florida Department of State and national museum services organizations. The Historical Museum has been accredited by the American Association of Museums since 1979.