Seattle, Washington is home to four major art museums and galleries: the Frye Art Museum, Henry Art Gallery, Seattle Art Museum, and the Seattle Asian Art Museum. Several Seattle museums and cultural institutions that are not specifically art museums also have excellent art collections, most notably the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, which has an excellent collection of Native American artwork.
Seattle is also home to well over 100 commercial art galleries, at least a dozen non-profit art galleries, and perhaps a hundred artists' studios that are open to the public at least once a month. About half of these galleries and studios are concentrated in one neighborhood, Pioneer Square.
Museums
| Name | Neighborhood | Type | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ballard Locks Museum/Visitor Center | Ballard | History | Artifacts and exhibits of Hiram M. Chittenden Locks dedicated in 1917 website http://ballardlocks.org/visitor-center-museum.html |
| Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Visitor Center | Lower Queen Anne | History | website, innovations and inventions around the world to make life better |
| Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture | University District | Natural history | Part of the University of Washington, includes fossils, natural history dioramas, Native American artifacts, Pacific Rim cultures exhibit, gems and minerals |
| Center for Wooden Boats | South Lake Union | Maritime | Historic wooden sailboats, rowboats and other boats, locations in Lake Union Park and Cama Beach State Park |
| Center on Contemporary Art | Seattle | Art | website, contemporary exhibitions at various locations |
| Chihuly Garden and Glass | Lower Queen Anne | Art | Studio glass of Dale Chihuly, located in the Seattle Center |
| Coast Guard Museum Northwest | SoDo | Military | Includes U.S. Coast Guard ship models, uniforms, photos and artifacts |
| Connections Museum | Georgetown | Technology | website Working telephone switching systems, old telephones and payphones, teletypes |
| Daybreak Star Cultural Center | Magnolia | Art | Native American art gallery and cultural center operated by United Indians of All Tribes |
| Museum of Pop Culture | Lower Queen Anne | Media | Popular culture, includes rock & roll and popular music memorabilia, interactive exhibits, Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame |
| Frye Art Museum | First Hill | Art | website, Painting and sculpture from the nineteenth century to the present |
| Georgetown Steam Plant | Georgetown | Technology | Steam engines in the former power plant |
| Giant Shoe Museum | Downtown | Commodity | Located in Pike Place Market, collection of giant shoes |
| Henry Art Gallery | University District | Art | The art museum of the University of Washington, includes rotating exhibitions of contemporary art |
| History House of Greater Seattle | Fremont | History - Local | History and heritage of Seattle and its neighborhoods |
| Jack Straw New Media Gallery | University District | Art | website, non-profit multidisciplinary audio arts center |
| Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park | Pioneer Square | History | Seattle's role in the Klondike Gold Rush |
| Last Resort Fire Department Museum | Downtown | Firefighting | website, vintage fire trucks, equipment, uniforms, located at the HQ for the Seattle Fire Department |
| Living Computer Museum | SoDo | Computer | History of the development of computers with vintage computers displayed for interactive public use |
| Log House Museum | West Seattle | Local history | website, operated by the Southwest Seattle Historical Society |
| Museum of Flight | South | Aerospace | Incorporates Boeing's original manufacturing plant, the largest private air and space museum in the world includes private and military aircraft |
| Museum of History and Industry | South Lake Union | History | Washington's history and culture. Largest heritage organization in the State of Washington, with a collection of over 4 million artifacts, photographs, and archival materials, primarily related to the history of Seattle and the greater Puget Sound region. |
| Museum of Museums | Capitol Hill | Contemporary Art | Three floors of visual art and installations, with a gift shop, movie theater, and classroom space. website |
| National Nordic Museum; formerly known as Nordic Heritage Museum | Ballard | Ethnic - Nordic | Heritage of Seattle's Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish immigrants; expanded in 2018 with a new building and permanent exhibition focused on a broader understanding of Nordic life and culture as it has evolved over the last twelve thousand years. |
| Northwest African American Museum | Central District | Ethnic - African American | African American heritage in the Northwest |
| Northwest Nikkei Museum | Central District | Ethnic | Operated by the Japanese Cultural Community Center, heritage and history of the Pacific Northwest’s Nikkei community |
| Northwest Seaport | South Lake Union | Maritime | Includes the Arthur Foss tugboat, Lightship 83 |
| Olympic Sculpture Park | Downtown | Art | 9-acre sculpture park |
| Pacific Science Center | Lower Queen Anne | Science | Exhibits include health, dinosaurs, space, human body, Puget Sound, technology |
| Photographic Center Northwest | Capitol Hill | Art | website, includes a contemporary photography gallery |
| Pioneer Association of the State of Washington | Madison Park | History, Genealogy, Library | https://wapioneers.com/, Oldest history organization in the State of Washington, meeting since 1871, incorporated 1895; headquarters at historic 1910 Washington Pioneer Hall on the shores of Lake Washington; Pioneer Hall is on the United States National Park Service register of Historic Places. |
| Seattle Art Museum | Downtown | Art | 3 facilities: main museum with diverse collections, Seattle Asian Art Museum and the Olympic Sculpture Park |
| Seattle Asian Art Museum | Capitol Hill | Art | Asian art, facility of the Seattle Art Museum |
| Seattle Central College M. Rosetta Hunter Art Gallery | Capitol Hill | Art | website |
| Seattle Children's Museum | Lower Queen Anne | Children's | Located in the Seattle Center |
| Seattle Mariners Hall of Fame | SoDo | Sports | Located at T-Mobile Park |
| Seattle Metropolitan Police Museum | Downtown | Law enforcement | History of policing in the Pacific Northwest |
| Seattle Pinball Museum | Chinatown-International District | Amusement | website, vintage pinball machines |
| Seattle University Galleries | First Hill | Art | Hedreen Gallery at the Lee Center for the Arts, Kinsey Gallery, Vachon Gallery |
| Steamship Virginia V | South Lake Union | Maritime | 1922 steamship |
| The Unity Museum | University District | Envisioning One Humanity | website |
| Wing Luke Museum | Chinatown-International District | Ethnic - Pan Asian Pacific American | Culture, art and history of Asian Pacific Americans |
Defunct museums
- Consolidated Works, closed in 2006
- Milepost 31, closed 2017, website, history of Pioneer Square and the construction of the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement tunnel, featured model of Bertha (tunnel boring machine)
- Museum of Mysteries, closed in 2014, collections now online as the Northwest Museum of Legends and Lore
- Odyssey Maritime Discovery Center, closed in 2008
- Western Bridge, closed in 2012
- Wright Exhibition Space, closed in 2014, collections now at Seattle Art Museum
See also
- List of museums in Washington (state)
- The Seattle Aquarium is located on piers on the Elliott Bay waterfront; the Woodland Park Zoo on Phinney Ridge in north Seattle is one of the country's leading zoos, notable especially for its innovations in open and naturalistic zoo exhibits.
- The campus of Seattle Center includes the Pacific Science Center, Museum of Pop Culture, Chihuly Garden and Glass and the Seattle Children's Museum.
References
- Langner, Erin. "Paul Kuniholm Pauper Exhibits At Seattle Art Museum". Seattle Art Museum. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
- "Giant Shoe Museum". Roadside America. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
- "Hedreen Gallery". Seattle University. Archived from the original on 2 March 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
- "Kinsey Gallery". Seattle University. Archived from the original on 2 March 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
- "Vachon Gallery". Seattle University. Archived from the original on 2 March 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
- "Seattle, Washington: Seattle Museum of the Mysteries (Closed)". Roadside America. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
- "Official site". Northwest Museum of Legends and Lore. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
- "Port to end pact with maritime museum". Seattle PI. February 26, 2008. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
- "Official site". Western Bridge. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
- "Western Bridge Melts into the Air". The Stranger. November 7, 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
- "Wright Exhibition Space to close, art going to SAM". Seattle Times. July 14, 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
