Southeast USA Museums and Culture

The KMA’s predecessor, the Dulin Gallery of Art, opened in 1961 in a beaux-arts mansion in West Knoxville. By the middle 1980s the Dulin had outgrown its quarters, and a major community effort raised $11 million for a new museum in downtown Knoxville at the site of the 1982 World’s Fair. The Knoxville Museum of Art opened in March 1990 in a state-of-the-art, 53,200 square-foot facility designed by renowned museum architect Edward Larrabee Barnes. The building, clad in Tennessee marble, is named in honor of local philanthropist Jim Clayton, the largest donor to the building fund.

The museum is an important component of The University of Tennessee, and participates in the implementation of the University's mission. The University of Tennessee is committed to the development of individuals and society as a whole through the cultivation and enrichment of the human mind and spirit. This is to be accomplished through teaching, scholarship, artistic creation, public service, and professional practice.
The complementary mission of the Frank H. McClung Museum is to advance understanding and appreciation of the earth and its peoples through the collection, preservation, study, interpretation, and exhibition of objects and data. The Museum is dedicated to the support of the academic programs of The University and to the attraction and education of the broadest spectrum of participants.

The beginnings of the Tennessee State Museum can be traced back to a museum opened on the Nashville public square in 1817 by a portrait artist, Ralph E.W. Earl. A young boy who visited that museum in 1823 wrote home that he had seen a life-size painting of then General Andrew Jackson. That same painting hangs today in the State Museum, now located at the corner of Fifth and Deaderick streets.
In 1937 the General Assembly created a state museum to house World War I mementoes and other collections from the state, the Tennessee Historical Society and other groups. This museum was located in the lower level of the War Memorial Building until it was moved into the new James K. Polk Center in 1981. The Tennessee State Museum currently occupies three floors, covering approximately 120,000 square feet with more than 60,000 square feet devoted to exhibits.

The Ritz Theatre & LaVilla Museum Celebrates the rich legacy of the African-American community that thrived in LaVilla for more than 100 years. The theatre and museum are revered as the premiere cultural institution in Jacksonville, Florida, showcasing art, music, drama, poetry, and African American history.
The stories and legends of LaVilla, known as the "Harlem of the South," live on within the walls of the refurbished museum and theatre. Ritz Theatre & LaVilla Museum is committed to reclaiming the past, celebrating the present, and embracing the future.

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.

The Jacksonville Fire Museum serves as an educational Link between the past and the present. Through the years, thousands of school children have toured the museum, learning about fire safety and the rich history of the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department.
At the Jacksonville Fire Museum , you will see more than 500 items detailing the history of the fire service not only in Jacksonville, but the entire state of Florida. Some of the artifacts are on loan from private individuals while other artifacts are property of the Jacksonville Fire Museum .

With more than 6,000 objects in its permanent collection, The Cummer is the largest fine arts museum in Northeast Florida. The museum is home to a highly regarded collection of European masters and American impressionists, a world-renowned collection of 18th century Meissen porcelain, and more than two-and-one half acres of historic gardens along the St. Johns River. Art Connections, the museum's nationally recognized education center, provides hands-on art experiences for visitors of all ages. The Cummer's unique blend of art, gardens, and education inspires imagination and excitement making the museum the premier cultural institution in the Southeast region

"The NEW World of Coca­Cola is the only place where visitors can explore the complete story—past, present and future—of the world's best-known brand! For over 120 years, we've been putting our secret formula into bottles. Now, we've put it all in one amazing place—the NEW World of Coca­Cola.
With 62,000 square feet of guest areas, the NEW World of Coca­Cola is approximately twice the size of the previous World of Coca­Cola.
We will feature more than 1,200 artifacts from around the world that have never been displayed to the public before. In fact, only about 50 artifacts from the previous World of Coca­Cola will be showcased at the NEW World of Coca­Cola.
A visit of the entire facility lasts an average of 90 minutes."

The Country Doctor Museum invites people of all ages to visit and learn about the history of rural health care in the United States. Docents lead tours through three buildings of exhibits and are available to answer questions. Exhibits contain artifacts relevant to the practice of medicine between the late 18th century and the first half of the 20th century. The Country Doctor Museum is the oldest museum in the United States dedicated to the history of America's rural health care. It was created in 1967 by a group of energetic women from North Carolina, whose initial interest was to build a lasting memorial for rural physicians. Over the decades, the Museum's collection grew to over 5,000 medical artifacts and many volumes of historic texts gathered from across the nation. The interpretive range also expanded from rural doctors to include topics such as nursing, pharmaceuticals, and home remedies.

Welcome to The National Steeplechase Museum which stands on the historic Springdale Race Course in Camden, South Carolina's oldest inland town. It is the only museum in the United States that is dedicated to the horses, trainers, owners, riders and races that tell the story of American Steeplechasing. Visitors will enjoy a myriad of exhibits and tour the surrounding 600 acres which is seasonal training ground for horses that jump and home to the famed Carolina and Colonial Cup Races.

The Ackland Art Museum was founded through the bequest of William Hayes Ackland (1855-1940) to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Ackland Trust provided the funds to construct the museum building, and that trust continues to provide for the purchase of works of art.

From a stately home on Peachtree Street to its current award-winning buildings in a spectacular setting, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta has grown to become the leading art museum in the Southeastern United States with its renowned collection of classic and contemporary art and renowned architecture by Richard Meier and Renzo Piano.

The Rankin Museum of American and Natural History is recognized for its diverse and unique collections, focusing on the history and cultures of Early American life; beginning with the Native American occupation and continuing to the present.

The Museum has four large floors devoted to the disciplines of art, history, natural history and science/technology. It houses both long-term exhibits and five changing exhibit galleries. On Oct. 29, 1988, the South Carolina State Museum opened its doors, bringing to the citizens of the Palmetto State the newest, and one of the finest, state museums in America. Since that day it has awed, delighted and enlightened millions of visitors. The State Museum has more than 70,000 artifacts in its collection, and it is still a very young institution. The State Museum has been voted Best Museum in the Midlands five years in a row by Columbia Metropolitan magazine, and was designated Best Museum of 2007 by the readers of the Free Times newspaper.

The Upcountry History Museum's mission is to promote, present and preserve the history of Upcountry South Carolina through education, research and service.

The Mission of the Union County Museum is: To discover, identify and collect the archives, and genealogical and historical materials which may help to establish and illustrate the history of Union County, South Carolina. To provide for the preservation of such material and for its accessibility, as far as may be feasible, to all who wish to examine or study it. To serve as a focal point for the dissemination of information regarding Union County, South Carolina and its history.

The science portion of the museum has fourteen different collections in Archaeology, Arthropod, Botany Herbarium, Economic Geology, Herpetology, Ichthyology, Invertebrate, Mammalogy, Mycological Herbarium, Ornithology, Paleontology, Pollen and Plant Microspore, Rocks and Minerals, and Zooarchaeology as well as more than 325,000 alcohol-preserved fish specimens. In addition, there are exhibits, archives, and entertainment for children.[4] Its more than four million objects makes it one of the largest museums in the Southeast. Source

This 80,000 square foot Museum opened in August 2003 with main galleries featuring contemporary Western American art. Other galleries feature Civil War art, Presidential portraits and letters, Western movie posters, and Western illustration. Sagebrush Ranch is an interactive gallery where children of all ages can learn about art and Western America. The Museum’s Special Exhibit Gallery hosts three to five temporary exhibits per year.
The Museum Store offers books on art and the West, as well as prints and other items featuring Western American art images. The Café offers light lunches to guests and members visiting the Museum. A multimedia theatre, with seating for 60, shows the orientation film “The American West” every 20 minutes.

In 2002, Jeff and Susan Lane established Lane Motor Museum. Jeff has been an automotive enthusiast since an early age. He began restoring his first car—a 1955 MG TF—when he was a teen. His personal collection was the donation that began the foundation. Lane Motor Museum unveiled its collection to the public in October of 2003. As director, Jeff Lane continues to search out cars for the collection that are technically significant or uniquely different. The goal of Lane Motor Museum is to share in the mission of collection and preserving automotive history for future generations.
The Museum is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.