The US is home to some world-famous cultural institutions but it also has some of the quirkiest and often downright eccentric museums. From spots dedicated to the craft of spying to tiny cupboards of curiosities and roadside spots that pay homage to the humble potato, the strangest museums in the USA are revealing, charming and fascinating in equal measure.
Tucked behind Lucky Lizard Curios & Gifts in Austin, the Museum of the Weird is stuffed with curiosities in the style of an old-fashioned American dime museum like that pioneered by P. T. Barnum, with a mix of real and 'fake' displays. Exhibits include shrunken heads, giant lizards and a 'feejee' or Fiji mermaid – a taxidermy monkey sewn together with a fish.
Orders come with a generous slice of cheese-topped history at this eclectic restaurant, which doubles as a museum filled with pizza-themed memorabilia from a margherita clock to dough-spinning dolls. Posters and signs plaster the walls as part of the vast display, certified by Guinness World Records as the world’s largest collection of pizza-related items.
There was a time when the word 'spam' referred to dinner rather than unwanted emails. Breakfast and lunch too, in many households. The Spam Museum harks back to that time, chronicling the history of the processed, pre-cooked canned meat from its introduction in 1937. From its role in the Second World War, when it was an important part of soldiers’ diets, to Monty Python’s musical Spamalot, the free museum has interactive exhibits and an on-site café where visitors can sample some Spam.
This remote museum usually attracts hordes of UFO and paranormal enthusiasts each year. The museum examines theories around the so-called Roswell Incident in 1947, when (officially) a US Army Air Forces high-altitude balloon crashed near the town, sparking suspicions of alien activity and government cover-ups. It also looks at other unexplained phenomenon such as crop circles and UFO sightings, plus Area 51, ancient astronauts and abductions.
The original Museum of Death opened in Los Angeles in 1995, 20 years before a second location came to New Orleans. Yet this atmospheric, quirky city feels like the natural home for it. It isn’t for the faint-hearted or easily upset, as the name might suggest, but there is an odd comfort in the morbid exhibits – after all, as the website says, “death affects us all”. Gruesome displays include body bags, a collection of skulls, antique mortician apparatus, crime scene photos and artefacts relating to serial killers.
California’s Coachella Valley does quirky pretty well but no attraction here is quite so brilliantly bonkers as this spot devoted to bananas. Among the 20,000 items relating to the bendy yellow fruit are sculptures, jewellery, vintage glassware and a record player. The museum claims it has the largest collection in the world dedicated to a single fruit. It also makes and serves a delicious house-made banana ice cream.
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New Orleans has many eclectic and pretty eccentric museums, but this one dedicated to ancient remedies and potions on Chartres Street in the historic French Quarter is perhaps the most charming. Housed in the apothecary of America's first licensed pharmacist, Louis J. Dufilho Jr, it's a treasure trove of curiosities like leech jars, surgical instruments, hand-blown apothecary bottles and 'gris-gris' potions used by voodoo practitioners. There's also an ornate, original 19th-century soda fountain on display: the machines were invented in the 1830s to make bitter medicines more palatable.
This haunting little museum offers a snapshot of America frozen in time. The Oasis Bordello Museum, occupying a former brothel in this former silver mining town, uniquely captures what life was like in a 'cathouse'. It remains exactly as it was when the last madame, Madame Ginger, and her workers fled in 1988 before being raided by the FBI – discarded clothes, dirty dishes and all. Visitors can typically tour the women’s rooms and see communal areas where lockers and a 'menu of services' remain.
The story behind the Coral Castle Museum is tinged with heartbreak. Carved by Ed Leedskalnin, who was jilted the day before his wedding, the limestone sculptures are a testimony to Ed’s former fiancée and the lingering pain of lost love. He built the extraordinary pieces over a period of 28 years from 1923 to 1951, with a Polaris telescope, sun dial and a 40-foot (12m) obelisk among the standout pieces.
From pieces used by the ancient Egyptians to tools used to test the quality of cheese, who knew the humble hammer could be so diverse and fascinating? This museum in Alaska – easily spotted thanks to the giant hammer out front – was opened in 2001 by Dave Pahl, who has a hobby of collecting and restoring old tools. The impressive collection consists of more than 2,000 pieces, including a Tlingit warrior's hammer thought to be at least 800 years-old. Even more intriguing, Pahl uncovered the ancient tool when building the museum.
This tucked-away treasure in La Jolla, just north of San Diego, is located on the ground floor of a small shopping centre and well worth seeking out. Spread across several interlinking rooms and alcoves are hundreds of rare and antique maps and atlases. From fascinating early examples that showcase different levels of knowledge and exploration to maps with charming and intricate illustrations, this museum is the kind of place it would be easy to spend hours in.
The Mansion on O Street is part museum, part music venue and part lavish hotel, all spread across five interconnecting townhouses with more than 100 rooms and 70 secret doors. The museum’s exhibits are displayed across the site and represents a lifetime of collecting and curating by owner H. H. Leonards. Officially recognised by the Smithsonian Museum, the museum’s highlights include more than 60 signed guitars, Prince’s purple jacket and letters and other artefacts belonging to Rosa Parks, who was a regular guest here.
The La Brea Tar Pits are among LA’s most overlooked and wonderfully odd attractions. Right in the heart of the city, tar has been seeping up from the ground for around 50,000 years and many of the pits have been excavated. The fascinating finds from this underground world form the core collection at the on-site museum. Impeccably preserved fossils on display include a sabre-toothed cat, a mammoth and a ground sloth, while visitors can also peek at scientists at work preparing specimens in the Fossil Lab or 'fish bowl'.
Skagway’s Red Onion Saloon is now primarily a bar and restaurant, although the on-site Brothel Museum offers some clues to its risqué past. The inn opened at the end of the 19th century as a brothel for gold miners and the space above the pub, where the brothel operated, is now a museum. It houses original artefacts and dresses, images of the women and (apparently) the ghost of former brothel madame Lydia still wafting her perfume through the halls.
New Orleans is the city most closely associated with Mardi Gras but the first organised celebration of 'Fat Tuesday' was held in the city of Mobile, Alabama in 1703. This seemingly small, but labyrinthine, Carnival Museum is a true hidden gem. Lots of gems, in fact, sewn onto the bodices, trains and suit jackets of elaborate costumes worn by previous years’ carnival kings and queens, some of which have their own rooms. There are also hats, masks and fascinating photos of “krewes” and celebrations through the decades.
This creepy mansion turned museum stands as spine-tingling testament to one woman’s commitment, imagination and – it could be argued – mania. Sarah Winchester, whose late husband had invented the Winchester rifle, purchased the grand home in 1886 and proceeded to spent the next three decades creating an elaborate labyrinth of more than 160 rooms, two basements, 10,000 windows and 2,000 doors, some of which open to sudden drops. A popular theory is that she was haunted by people killed by her late husband’s invention and created the maze to keep vengeful spirits at bay.
There are more than 6,000 mustards on display in this piquant museum, including examples from each of the 50 states and many others sourced (or sauced?) from around the globe. Founder Barry Levenson was Wisconsin’s assistant attorney general when he opened this ode to mustard in 1986, and he left his role in 1991 to devote himself to the museum full time. Condiment memorabilia includes antique tins, ornate pots and retro posters. There’s also a tasting bar where people can usually try (and if they like, buy) different varieties with flavours like wasabi, blue cheese or chocolate.
It’s a big title for a museum specialising in tiny things. But this museum of miniatures isn’t all about twee dollhouses and figurines. Instead, it’s devoted to the serious art form of miniatures, with shops and houses that are exact replicas of the real thing rather than small-scale playthings. Among its extensive collection are a fine French château (pictured) and an incredibly detailed replica of Sherlock Holmes’ residence, 221B Baker Street.
The capital's most covert museum harbours the world's largest collection of spy artefacts, including hundreds of gadgets, weapons, bugs, cameras and vehicles. Exhibits in the sleek building range from stories of early spymasters to modern-day adventures, and collection highlights include a lipstick pistol used by the KGB. There are also interactive stations where visitors can test their skills of observation, surveillance and disguise.
Banjo players and enthusiasts Brady Hunt and Jack Canine wanted to honour and promote the string instrument’s role in US music history when they opened the American Banjo Museum in 1998. Now it houses more than 400 instruments – one of the largest collections of banjos on public display in the world. Must-sees include replicas of early banjos crafted by enslaved Africans using gourds and animal skin, and ornate banjos made in America during the Jazz Age.
Manhattan’s Mmuseumm is as hard to spot as it is to pronounce. The contemporary natural history museum is housed in a freight elevator in Tribeca and focuses on seemingly random, prosaic objects. Collections frequently change but always focus on the “overlooked, dismissed or ignored” items, such as sunglasses, backpacks and aerosol cans. The tiny museum has limited opening hours but the display is visible 24 hours a day through a peephole.
Wacky, unique and lovingly put together, the Devil's Rope Museum is devoted to… barbed wire. Two balls of the stuff flank the entrance of the quirky spot, found just off Route 66 on the way to Amarillo. Inside are displays showcasing some of the 2,000-odd different types of barbed wire, vintage adverts and early patent models. There’s also information on how barbed wire shaped the history of ranching and cattle rearing in the US, plus an area dedicated to the history of Route 66 itself.
One of Las Vegas’ most unique attractions is sort of a graveyard for old neon signs. The Neon Museum saves pieces from motels, hotels, restaurants and bars, and restores them to their former glory. The display in the outdoor 'boneyard', where paths weave between piles of letters and images, is fascinating in daylight but is something even more spectacular at night when signs, including the guitar from the Hard Rock Hotel, are illuminated against the dark sky.
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The Stetson Mansion was built in 1886 for famed hat maker John B. Stetson and the current owners have restored it to its former, and for a while forgotten, glory. While not technically a museum, the home opens for tours between February and July and hosts a tinsel-filled 'Christmas Spectacular!' during the festive season. And its history goes beyond tipping one’s hat to its namesake. Henry Flagler built a portion of railway to the estate so building materials could be delivered directly, while Thomas Edison installed the electrics.
The history of funerals might seem a little morbid – and, of course, it is – but this well-executed collection of funerary artefacts and burial traditions is also surprisingly uplifting. The museum’s exhibits includes memorabilia from the funerals of icons such as JFK, Elvis Presley and Martin Luther King Jr, alongside thoughtful displays that detail how different cultures mourn and commemorate their dead. Permanent collections include a display on the history of embalming and a range of vintage hearses.
Chasing Rainbows Museum is small but perfectly formed – just like the legendary country musician it’s all about. Based in Dolly Parton’s east Tennessee theme park, Dollywood, the museum is packed with memorabilia, old photos and outfits like this coat sewn by the singer’s mum. The museum is called Chasing Rainbows as Dolly wanted it to inspire other people to follow their seemingly unobtainable dreams, just as she did.
The harsh and desolate Mojave Desert is an evocative setting for this bizarre outdoor collection of thought-provoking assemblage pieces by the late artist Noah Purifoy. Scattered across 10 acres of barren land, Purifoy's installations, which he termed “environmental sculptures”, are built entirely using discarded objects like old bicycles, street signs, toilets and wooden planks. Visitors can wander around the open-air gallery free of charge.
The first ever Waffle House, which opened in 1955, has been transformed into a homage to the origins of the popular US-wide chain, with an interior styled like a 1950s diner – complete with counter seating and retro menu boards. When tours are offered, by appointment, visitors can peek at decades of memorabilia or learn some fascinating facts. Did you know that if you stacked up all of the sausage patties the Waffle House serves on any given day, they’d form a teetering tower twice the height of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa?
The International Museum of Surgical Science is dedicated to the history and science of surgery – so it’s safe to say it’s not for the faint-hearted. An extraordinary and often gruesome collection of art and artefacts charts healing practices from prehistoric times right through to the modern day. Housed in an elegant, 18th-century mansion next to Lake Michigan, the exhibits are spread over four floors and include a 16th-century Austrian amputation saw and the Hall of Immortals (pictured), a dozen sculptures honouring surgical pioneers.
Dedicated to all things spud-related, the Idaho Potato Museum's pint-sized collection gets right to the root of the starchy vegetable's history, including exhibits on how it's grown and harvested in Idaho, which claims to produce the best potatoes in the world. Occupying an old rail depot, it’s also just a really fun place to visit, with potato facts and history mashed up with memorabilia including a Mr. Potato Head collection. Oh, and there’s a giant baked spud out front.
Located within the CIA Headquarters in Langley, the CIA Museum is a treasure trove of artefacts, models and information concerning many of the missions and historic eras that the Central Intelligence Agency has been part of. From a model of the compound where Osama bin Laden was killed to the famous German cipher machine Enigma, it's full to the brim with exceptional and one-of-a-kind items and has plenty of stories to tell. The only caveat? It's not actually open to the public, so no one can visit the museum.
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