Museums of Downtown Denver

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Museo de las Americas—located in the heart of Denver’s art district —is the only museum in Colorado dedicated to the art, history and culture of Latin America and its people. The Museo houses a permanent collection of objects from across North and South America from ancient times to present. The organization was created in 1991 by community members who shared a commitment to preserve, present and promote the art and culture of the Latino people. The Museo grew rapidly in its early years and moved into its current 12,000 square foot facility in 1994. This museum offers a variety of exhibits that tell the history of Latin America and its people through art, including works of fine art as well as a collection of jewelry, masks, basketry, ceramics, and textiles.

2. Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art

The Kirkland Museum features the original studio and works of Vance Kirkland (artist, educator, and collector), 6,000 works by Colorado and regional artists dating from 1820-1990, and an international decorative art collection dating from 1875-1990. Curator Hugh Grant's salon style approach to display makes the museum vibrant and unique. Though the museum is closed from May 2016 through Fall of 2017 for relocation, the original studio will be moved intact to the new Bannock Street facility in Denver's Golden Triangle Museum District [1].

3. History Colorado Center

The largest history museum in the state of Colorado, the center includes dozens of permanent and rotating exhibits as well as lecture series and a research library. Notable exhibits include decade reviews, Colorado history, and local celebrities. The Center is operated by the Colorado Historical Society, which was established in 1879.

4. Denver Art Museum

The Denver Art Museum is an art museum located in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1893, the museum is one of the largest art museums between the West Coast and Chicago. It is known for its collection of American Indian art, and its other collections of more than 70,00 diverse works from across the centuries and world.

5. Clyfford Still Museum

The Clyfford Still Museum is a minimalist showcase for the large-scale paintings & archives of Clyfford Still, who is considered one of the most important painters of the 20th century. Clyfford Still (1904–1980) was among the first generation of Abstract Expressionist artists who developed a new and powerful approach to painting in the years immediately following World War II. The museum opened in 2011.

6. Byers-Evans House Museum

This historic Italianate-style house served as a home for two prominent Denver families. It was built for William N. Byers, the owner of the Rocky Mountain News, in 1883. William G. Evans, the head of the Denver Tramway Corporation and oldest son of former governor John Evans, bought the home in 1889. The house is operated by History Colorado and features an art gallery which showcases works reflecting the history of Denver and the Mountain West.

7. Molly Brown House Museum

As more and more historic properties were demolished in the 1960s, a group of preservation-minded Denver citizens joined efforts in 1970 to rescue the home of Titanic survivor Margaret Tobin Brown. The group incorporated as Historic Denver, Inc. and began major restoration efforts in order to return the home’s interior and exterior to its early 20th century grandeur. Guided tours of the Museum reach an average of 45,000 visitors a year, sharing the story of Margaret “Molly” Brown and Denver history. Historic Denver’s Molly Brown House Museum is committed to enhancing the city’s unique identity by telling the story of Margaret “Molly” Brown’s activism, philanthropy and passion through educational programs, exhibits and stewardship. By exploring the dynamic between past and present, we shape a stronger community for the future and inspire engaged citizens.

8. Denver Firefighters Museum

This local history museum offers exhibits and artifacts that trace the history of the Denver Fire Department from its earliest days to the present, with demonstrations of historic and modern equipment. The museum dates back to the efforts of some of the city's first professional firefighters to collect and preserve photographs, documents, and historic firefighting equipment. This collection has been housed in the city's first fire station (built in 1909) for decades, and has grown steadily through the years. Some of the artifacts date back to the era when this historic fire station housed horse-drawn equipment, prior to the department's purchase of gasoline-powered apparatus in the mid-1920s.

9. Colorado Sports Hall of Fame Museum

The Colorado Sports Hall of Fame Museum opened in August of 2001. The museum exists to honor those individuals who merit recognition and distinction for their exploits, accomplishments, and leadership in sports and athletic endeavors in Colorado. It is located on the west side of Sports Authority Field at Mile High and exposes visitors to Colorado sports history. There is a fee for tours, but museum admission is free.

10. Children's Museum of Denver - Marsico Campus

First established in a converted school bus 1973, the Children's Museum of Denver opened its current building in 1984 and completed a substantial expansion in 2015. The hands-on, interactive exhibits are targeted toward newborn through eight-year-olds. The museum also offers a café, shop, school programs, field trips, and birthday party hosting [1].

11. The Denver Money Museum

Located within the Denver branch of the Federal Reserve Bank, the Denver Money Museum utilizes interactive and interpretive displays to impart knowledge to visitors about the Federal Reserve System, its history, economics and monetary policies. This modest museum offers both self-guided audio tours and guided tours for groups of the 5th-grade level and above with a reservation. Walk-ins are welcome and admission is free. However, adults 18 and older are required to show a valid state or national ID to gain admittance.

12. B's Ballpark Museum

The National Ballpark Museum is commonly recognized as B's Ballpark Museum. It is an amazing tribute to baseball stadiums around the nation! The museum relies less on the game and more on where the game takes place, inside of the park! Once you walk in, it is like one unique stadium that has an accumulation of keepsakes from different ballparks! You can expect to see bricks from old ballparks, books, photos, jerseys, and even stadium seats! Located in Downtown Denver, it is perfect for all ages who love the game or anyone who is interested in learning about baseball! Tickets range from being free to being $10. You are welcome to tour the museum every Tuesday through Saturday; although, sometimes business hours vary due to B's accounting career.

13. Black American West Museum & Heritage Center

The Black American West Museum was created by Paul W. Stewart in 1971. The museum’s focus is to gather, preserve, and broadcast the ways in which African Americans were a part of the Old West. At first it was created to share the tale of the “Black Cowboys.” However, overtime it has transformed to share the tales of the first African Americans in the west and their lives as miners, soldiers, home and property owners, cowboys, Blacksmiths, educators, lawmen, and several other jobs that were desired for the West.

14. Forney Museum of Transportation

The Forney Transportation Museum is a transport museum located in Denver, Colorado. Names after its founder, J.D. Forney, the museum began as a private collection in 1921. It became a museum in 1961, and a non-profit organization in 1964.

15. Denver Museum of Nature and Science

The Denver Museum of Nature and Science is an independent, nonprofit museum dedicated to informal science and the natural history of Colorado, Earth, and the Universe. With over 500,000-square-feet of interior space along with more than one million objects in its collections, which includes natural history and anthropological materials as well as archival and library materials. Founded in 1900, the museum traces its origins back to pioneer and naturist Edwin Carter, who assembled one of the most comprehensive collections of Colorado fauna in his log cabin home, called the Carter Museum. To protect this collection in a larger, fireproof building, funds were collected and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science was incorporated on December 6, 1900. Over the course of its history, the museum has added the Phipps Auditorium (1940), the Gates Planetarium (1968), an IMAX theater (1983), and the Leprino Family Atrium and Anschutz Family Sky Terrace (2002).

This Tour is a Walking Tour.

Museums of Downtown Denver

Created by Michael Bolden on November 27th 2016, 10:35:02 pm.

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Description

This tour includes fifteen of the leading museums in the heart of Denver. The tour includes state-supported museums, museums dedicated to science and the arts, thematic museums such as the Denver Firefighters Museum and the Money Museum, sports and technology museums, and institutions that preserve and share the history and culture of Colorado's diverse communities.

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Museum Virtual Tours and Citywide Museum Trails

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Museums of Downtown Denver

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