November 2010

Explore the West's largest collection of railway locomotives, passenger and freight cars, streetcars, interurban electric cars, buildings and other artifacts dating from the 1870's. Ride streetcars, interurban cars and trains on the museum railway.

The organization was founded in 1931 as the Nevada Art Gallery by Dr. James Church and Charles F. Cutts. With Cutt's bequest of his Ralston Street home and collection in 1949, the Gallery obtained a facility and the foundation of a permanent collection.

The Nevada Art Gallery remained largely a volunteer organization until 1975, when the Board of Trustees hired two art historians and began to improve upon the quality of the collection, exhibitions, and programming. In 1978, the Nevada Art Gallery purchased the Hawkins House, a national historic landmark building. Located on Court Street overlooking Reno's Truckee River, the house was commissioned in 1911 by Nevada banker and lawyer, Prince Hawkins. The Hawkins House was designed by Elmer Grey, a prominent Los Angeles architect who also designed the Huntington Mansion (now the Huntingon Library and Gallery), The Pasadena Community Playhouse, and the Beverly Hills Hotel. Upon moving into the new facility, the organization's name was changed to the Sierra Nevada Museum of Art.

At the eastern end of Perdido Key is an area once used by the U.S. Army to defend Pensacola Bay. A three-tiered fort with a detached water battery called Fort McRee was built there between 1834 and 1839. During the Civil War, the fort was heavily damaged in a massive artillery exchange between Confederate forces at McRee and Barrancas, and Union forces at Fort Pickens and onboard the ships Niagara and Richmond in November 1861. Coastal erosion crumbled the foundations afterward, and by the 1906 Hurricane destroyed Fort McRee. All that was left was a single arch that eventually eroded away.

The end of the island was still called Fort McRee, and concrete Coast Artillery batteries were built there in 1899, 1900 and 1942. Battery 233 was the last built and remains today. Access is by 4x4 vehicle or by foot.

Winner of the 2002 "Best Attraction" award from the Downtown Alliance, the Buckhorn Saloon and Museum appeals to visitors of all ages. At the Buckhorn, interactive displays make the experience come alive.

Belly up to the bar in the old-fashioned saloon-turned-café, and browse the Curio Store, "The Worlds Oddest Store". The world famous Buckhorn Saloon and Museum has delighted hundreds of thousands of visitors for over 120 years. Come visit this San Antonio classic and discover a whole new Wild West experience.

The Spanish completed Fort Matanzas in 1742 to protect Matanzas Inlet, the "backdoor" to St. Augustine. It is today accessible by guided boat tours that focus on the site's role in hostilities between the colonial Spanish, French, and English.

Coastal Florida was a major field of conflict as European nations fought for control in the New World. As part of this struggle, Fort Matanzas guarded St. Augustine’s southern river approach. The colonial wars are over, but the monument is still protecting not just the historic fort, but also the wild barrier island and the plants and animals who survive there amidst a sea of modern development.

Located on the New River, the Fort Lauderdale Historical Society tells the story of our community’s history from the Pioneers of Fort Lauderdale to the present day through its four historic structures: 1905 New River Inn, which houses the Museum of History and was the first building in Broward County to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places; the 1905 Philemon Bryan House, a four-square Vernacular style house; 1905 Acetylene Building, which produced acetylene gas to light the New River Inn; and the 1907 King-Cromartie House Museum, which belonged to one of the first pioneer families in Fort Lauderdale. The site also includes a replica of the first Broward County school house and the Hoch Heritage Center, a public research library that holds the largest collection of material related to greater Fort Lauderdale, including more than 250,000 historic photographs.

Following the disastrous Fort Lauderdale Fire of 1912, citizens recognized the need for an effective fire department, and thus commissioned the Historic Fire Station 3. The work of famed architext Francis L. Abrey, the building has been an architectural and civic landmark for over 78 years.

From jeeps, side arms, early year aircraft, fighter jets recently retired from active duty, to antique ambulances, bombadier sites to modern missles, from one of the earliest pilot's licenses issued by the FFA to unique personal items carried into combat during the previous century, from artifacts of airplanes which made aviation history, to piles of parts destined to end up as pieces of a fully restored vintage aircraft, the visitor will find a unique collection of aircraft and artifacts.

Located in Miami's Lummus Park, Fort Dallas and the William Wagner House offer unique insights into southeastern Florida's antebellum history. The William Wagner House's eponymous resident was one of the first permanent white American residents of the Miami area, and his house stands today as a testament to the American frontier impulse.*

This native oolitic limestone building was constructed around 1844 as slave quarters on William English's plantation located near the mouth of the Miami River. The building served as a U .S. Army barracks after Fort Dallas was reestablished here in 1849 and 1855 during the Second and Third Seminole Wars. Moved to Lummus Park in 1925, Fort Dallas is one of only two surviving buildings from Miami's pioneer era, the other being the William Wagner House, also located in Lummus Park. (from website.)

Located in what is today Fort Cooper State Park, visitors can tour the fort, traverse the nature paths, and learn the life-or-death history of one of Florida's most violent military and cultural clashes.