The Fort Lauderdale History Center is a museum complex operated by the Fort Lauderdale Historical Society that is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The complex includes the 1905 New River Inn, a former hotel which now houses the main museum of local history. In addition to dioramas, artifacts, displays and photographs, the museum features one room decorated to appear as a typical hotel room of 1908.
A museum is an institution that cares for (conserves) a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these items available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. The largest museums are located in major cities throughout the world, while thousands of local museums exist in smaller cities, towns and rural areas. Museums have varying aims, ranging from serving researchers and specialists to serving the general public. The goal of serving researchers is increasingly shifting to serving the general public.
Florida is the southernmost contiguous state in the United States. The state is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, and to the south by the Straits of Florida. Florida is the 22nd-most extensive, the 3rd-most populous, and the 8th-most densely populated of the U.S. states. Jacksonville is the most populous municipality in the state and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. The Miami metropolitan area is Florida's most populous urban area. Tallahassee is the state's capital.
The New River Inn is a historic site in Fort Lauderdale, Florida located at 231 Southwest 2nd Avenue.
The 1907 King-Cromartie House has been furnished as a historic house museum of 1915, and is open by guided tour. The 1899 Replica School House is also open by tour, and was originally constructed in the 1970s as an American Bicentennial project. [1]
A historic house museum is a house that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a variety of standards, including those of the International Council of Museums.
The Fort Lauderdale Historical Society also maintains a public research library and archives of the history of Greater Fort Lauderdale.
The museum was formerly known as the Old Fort Lauderdale Village and Museum.
The Fort Lauderdale History Center's vision was to bring forth the history of the Greater Fort Lauderdale with research, interactive experiences, and the preservation of historical items. Their "Vision" from the 'About Us" section of the homepage states:
The Research Center was originally built as a post office annex in 1949, and this warehouse structure has been the home of the Fort Lauderdale Historical Society since 1978. The Hoch Heritage Center is where visitors and local residents come to expand their own knowledge, by perusing the reference library, conducting research in the history files or shopping for photographic prints from our historic image collections. [3] The Research Center has a variety of collections available that include images, manuscripts, and oral histories that keep the history of Greater Fort Lauderdale alive. The research hours at the center are Monday through Friday, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. A researcher or a curious mind is able to schedule an appointment online. [4]
The Hoch Heritage Research Center has numerous collections that focus on artifacts, maps and blueprints, architecture, audiovisual, oral histories, scrapbooks, and newspapers. Two of the larger collections, manuscript and photograph and image, allow you to view those items online.
Manuscript Collections Among our most valuable collections, the manuscript collections encompass a wide variety of subjects and include three major collections: the Stranahan Collection containing items owned by two of Fort Lauderdale’s most important pioneer citizens; the August Burghard Collection, containing research material acquired by one of Fort Lauderdale’s first historians; and the Dr. James Glenn Collection, containing information regarding his days as a Seminole Indian Agent. We are in the process of creating detailed finding aids for our manuscript collections. [5]
Photograph and Image Collections The Fort Lauderdale Historical Society's outstanding photographic collections contain 400,000 images documenting the history of Broward County. In addition to photographs, the Society also has notable collections of postcards and slides. Most of these images are available for reproduction. [6]
Permanent Exhibits
There are three permanent exhibits at the Fort Lauderdale History Center: King-Cromartie House, New River Inn Visitor's Room, and Panorama of The Past. The Panorama of the Past exhibit is a three-gallery exhibition aimed to provide an overview of the entire history of the Greater Fort Lauderdale area. Topics and artifacts range from early native peoples and Spanish explorers to the Florida East Coast Railway to the Spring Break craze of the 1960s. Visitors will see lifelike displays, hear the voices of Fort Lauderdale pioneers and step back in time with the help of numerous artifacts and images from the Historical Society’s collections. [7]
The San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park is located in San Francisco, California, United States. The park includes a fleet of historic vessels, a visitor center, a maritime museum, and a library/research facility. The park used to be referred to as the San Francisco Maritime Museum, however the former 1951 name changed in 1978 when the collections were acquired by the National Park Service. Today's San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park was authorized in 1988; the maritime museum is among the park's many cultural resources. The park also incorporates the Aquatic Park Historic District, bounded by Van Ness Avenue, Polk Street, and Hyde Street.
The Arizona Historical Society (AHS) is a non-profit organization whose goal is to collect, preserve, interpret, and disseminate the history of Arizona, the West, and Northern Mexico as it pertains to Arizona. It does this through 4 regional divisions. Each division has a representative museum. The statewide divisions are as follows: Southern Arizona Division in Tucson, the Central Arizona Division in Tempe, the Northern Arizona Division in Flagstaff, and the Rio Colorado Division in Yuma. It was founded in 1884.
The National Museum of Health and Medicine (NMHM) is a museum in Silver Spring, Maryland, near Washington, DC. The museum was founded by U.S. Army Surgeon General William A. Hammond as the Army Medical Museum (AMM) in 1862; it became the NMHM in 1989 and relocated to its present site at the Army's Forest Glen Annex in 2011. An element of the Defense Health Agency (DHA), the NMHM is a member of the National Health Sciences Consortium.
The United States Army Heritage and Education Center (USAHEC), at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, is the U.S. Army's primary historical research facility. Formed in 1999 and reorganized in 2013, the center consists of the Military History Institute (MHI), the Army Heritage Museum (AHM), the Historical Services Division (HSD), Visitor and Education Services (VES), the U.S. Army War College Library, and Collections Management (CM). The U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center is part of the United States Army War College, but has its own 56-acre (230,000 m2) campus.
The Oregon Historical Society Museum is a history museum housed at the Oregon Historical Society in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. The museum was created in 1898 and receives about 44,000 visitors annually.
The North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum, located on the North Dakota State Capitol grounds in Bismarck, is the state of North Dakota's official history museum. The original building, which was opened in 1981, is operated by the State Historical Society of North Dakota and features permanent and temporary exhibits. In June 2008, the museum, which has been called a "Smithsonian on the plains", became home to a rare mummified Edmontosaurus with fossilized skin.
The Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) is an agency of the government of Oklahoma dedicated to promotion and preservation of Oklahoma's history and its people by collecting, interpreting, and disseminating knowledge and artifacts of Oklahoma. The mission of the OHS is to collect, preserve, and share the history and culture of the state of Oklahoma and its people.
The State Historical Society of North Dakota is an agency that preserves and presents history through museums and historic sites in the state of North Dakota. The agency operates the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck, which serves as a history museum for the state, oversees the preservation of the state's historic places, and presents the history of the state to the public in exhibits and branch museums. The Society also operates the Former North Dakota Executive Mansion in Bismarck.
The Idaho State Historical Society (ISHS) is a historical society located in the U.S. state of Idaho that preserves and promotes Idaho’s cultural heritage. The society's vision is to inspire, enrich, and reach out to all Idahoans by providing leadership in the areas of preservation and dissemination of the state's dynamic cultural heritage.
Established in 1850, the Society of California Pioneers is dedicated to the study and enjoyment of California art, history, and culture. Founded by individuals arriving in California before 1850 and thriving under the leadership of several generations of their direct descendants, The Society has continuously served its members, the academic community, and the public. As the oldest organization West of The Mississippi, The Society opened the first library in California, as well as a grand hall for meetings, lectures, and social events. Today The Society operates a public museum and a research library, both housed in one of the iconic Montgomery Barracks Buildings on The Presidio of San Francisco’s historic Main Post.
The Vermont Historical Society (VHS) was founded in 1838 to preserve and record the cultural history of the US state of Vermont. Headquartered in the old Spaulding School Building in Barre, the Vermont History Center is home to the Vermont Historical Society's administrative offices, the Leahy Library and a small book shop. In Montpelier the Society operates the Vermont History Museum in the Pavilion building, just east of the Vermont State House.
The Bostonian Society is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1881 for the purpose of preventing the Old State House from being "moved brick by brick" from Boston, Massachusetts to Chicago, Illinois. Determined to save the historic building that was the site of the Boston Massacre and the place for the proclamation of the Declaration of Independence in Massachusetts, a group of citizens banded together formed "Boston's first successful historic preservation movement".
The National Canal Museum is the Signature Program of the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor.
The Minnesota History Center is a museum and library that serves as the headquarters of the Minnesota Historical Society. It is near downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota, and is considered one of Minnesota's finest public buildings.
The Issaquah History Museums (IHM) is a nonprofit organization that operates the Issaquah Depot Museum and the Gilman Town Hall Museum located in Issaquah, Washington. The group's mission is "to discover, preserve and share the history of Issaquah and its environs."
The Beverly Historical Society, located in Beverly, Massachusetts, was founded in 1891, and its headquarters is the 1781 John Cabot House, which has two floors of museum exhibits. The collections have grown to more than 750,000 objects, including manuscripts, books, photographs, maps, decorative arts, and other artifacts related to the history of Beverly and the North Shore. The Society acquired two 17th century properties in the 1930s, the John Balch House and the John Hale House, which it opens to the public for guided tours.
White River Valley Museum is a historical museum located in Auburn, Washington.
The Renton History Museum is a repository for objects and archives significant to the city of Renton in the state of Washington, United States. The museum has objects and archives of Renton’s history and has exhibits and public programs for the community and visitors. It is a joint initiative between the city of Renton and the Renton Historical Society, a non-profit organization providing private sector support for the museum.
Founded in 1916, the Columbia County Historical Society and CCHS Museum & Library collects, preserves, interprets, and presents the history, heritage, and culture of Columbia County, New York, and serves residents of all eighteen Columbia County towns and the city of Hudson.