This list of museums in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, encompasses museums defined for this context as institutions, including nonprofit organizations, government entities, and private businesses, that collect and care for objects of cultural, artistic, scientific, or historical interest and make their collections or related exhibits available for public viewing. Also included are university and non-profit art galleries. Museums that exist only in cyberspace, such as virtual museums, are not included.
| Name | Neighborhood | Type | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural history | Nature dioramas, large mineral crystals, dinosaurs, live animals | ||
| ACES Museum | Military | Honors the black and minority veterans of World War II[1] [2] | |
| Center City | Ethnic | Formerly known as Afro-American Historical and Cultural Museum | |
| Center City | Multiple | Changing exhibits on history, science and art drawn from its collections | |
| Focuses on Swedish contributions to history, art, architecture, music, science and technology | |||
| Art | Gallery of the University of Pennsylvania | ||
| Center City | Art | Museum of American fine and decorative arts, exhibits about architecture and design history | |
| Center City | Art | Post-Impressionist and early Modern paintings, American masters, Old Master paintings, African sculpture, Native American ceramics, jewelry and textiles, American paintings and decorative arts and antiquities from the Mediterranean region and Asia | |
| Historic house | Botanical garden with a historic house to tour | ||
| West Philadelphia | History | Historic mansion with Underground Railroad museum in Fairmount Park | |
| Center City | Historic house | Possible home of Betsy Ross, who sewed flags for the U.S. Navy and may have sewn the first American flag. | |
| Bishop White House | Center City | Historic house | Part of Independence National Historical Park, late-18th-century-period house |
| Carpenters' Hall | Center City | History | Part of Independence National Historical Park, colonial history of the carpenter's guild |
| West Philadelphia | Historic house | 18th-century stone house reflection five generations of owners | |
| Center City | Art | International arts institution, gallery and resource center for design of art in wood | |
| Philadelphia | Civil War | Temporarily closed 2008, seeking new location; collection stored at the Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center, National Museum of American Jewish History and the African American Museum in Philadelphia[3] | |
| Germantown | Historic house | Operated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, mid 18th-century mansion that was the scene of some of the bloodiest fighting of the 1777 Battle of Germantown during the American Revolutionary War | |
| Colored Girls Museum | Germantown | Ethnic - African American | A "memoir museum" devoted to the stories, experiences, and history of ordinary Black women and girls |
| Germantown | Education | 18th-century one-room schoolhouse | |
| Center City | History | Part of Independence National Historical Park, restored to period when the building served as the meeting place of the U. S. Congress from 1790 - 1800 | |
| Declaration House | Center City | Historic house | website, part of Independence National Historical Park, 18th-century house where Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence |
| Dolley Todd House | Center City | Historic house | Part of Independence National Historical Park, 18th-century-period home of Dolley Todd Madison |
| Drexel University Collection | West Philadelphia | Art | website, painting, sculpture, decorative arts and porcelain, exhibited in the AJ Drexel Picture Gallery, Rincliff Gallery, Peck Gallery |
| Prison | Tours and exhibits about the 19th century prison that was in use until 1971 | ||
| Germantown | Historic house | Victorian mansion and garden | |
| Lower North Philadelphia | Historic house | Home once rented by author Edgar Allan Poe, exhibits about his life and works | |
| Center City | Historic house | Only house on Elfreth's Alley that is accessible to the public | |
| Center City | Art | Devoted to creating new work in new materials and new media | |
| Lower North Philadelphia | Natural history | Interpretive center houses interactive exhibits about water and the water works | |
| Firemen's Hall Museum | Center City | Firefighting | website, history and heroic moments of Philadelphia firefighting |
| Southwest Philadelphia | Military | Centerpiece of the British conquest of Philadelphia during the American Revolution, 18th- and 19th-century buildings | |
| Lower North Philadelphia | Decorative arts | Part of Girard College, collection of furniture, silver, paintings, ceramics, textiles and archives of Stephen Girard, and school memorabilia | |
| Center City | History | Part of Independence National Historical Park, site of Ben Franklin's house, features Benjamin Franklin Museum, an 18th-century printing office, an architectural/archeological exhibit, an operating post office and a postal museum | |
| Center City | Science | Many hands-on exhibits, also Ben Franklin's inventions | |
| Center City | Art | Part of Moore College of Art and Design | |
| Germantown Historical Society Museum | Local history | website, furniture, decorative and historical exhibits, located in the John Fromberger House | |
| Germantown | Historic house | Owned by the National Park Service, formerly the Deshler-Morris House, 18th-century house that sheltered George Washington and his family | |
| Historic site | Philadelphia's only remaining Delaware riverfront estate open to the public, listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Historic American Landscape Survey | ||
| Northeast Philadelphia | Military | Located in the John Ruan House, features Civil War and Grand Army of the Republic artifacts, books, and memorabilia | |
| Germantown | Historic house | Mid-18th-century house | |
| Center City | Historic house | Operated by the Philadelphia Society for the Preservation of Landmarks, 19th-century home of surgical pioneer Dr. Philip Syng Physick | |
| Northeast Philadelphia | Local history | History of Northeast Philadelphia | |
| Center City | History | Changing exhibits of the history of Pennsylvania and the founding of the United States | |
| Center City | History | Part of Independence National Historical Park, location where both the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were debated and adopted | |
| Center City | History | ||
| Center City | Maritime | Maritime artifacts, ship models, permanent and interactive exhibits, including the warship and the submarine | |
| Northeast Philadelphia | Natural history | Thousands of live and mounted insects, interactive displays | |
| West Philadelphia | Art | Part of the University of Pennsylvania | |
| Germantown | Historic house | Significant for its role in the antislavery movement and the Underground Railroad | |
| Germantown | Art | Collections include European and American art from the Renaissance to the present | |
| North Philadelphia | Historic house | website, 18th-century Georgian house | |
| Lower North Philadelphia | Historic house | Located in Fairmount Park, operated by the Pennsylvania chapter of the Colonial Dames of America and the Friends of Lemon Hill, early-19th-century house | |
| Leonard Pearlstein Gallery | West Philadelphia | Art | website, part of Drexel University's Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts and Design, exhibits novel and experimental art in all contemporary mediums including digital, video, sculpture, photography, graphics, and fashion design |
| Center City | History | Part of Independence National Historical Park, includes the Liberty Bell and exhibits about its history and role as an international icon of freedom | |
| Center City | Library | Changing exhibits from its collections of American history and culture from the 17th through the 19th centuries | |
| West Philadelphia | Puppet | Creations of the Spiral Q Puppet Theater, open by appointment | |
| Mario Lanza Museum | South Philadelphia | Biographical | website, memorabilia from the career of the legendary tenor Mario Lanza |
| South Philadelphia | Biographical | Two sites operated by the Marion Anderson Historical Society | |
| Center City | Masonic | Center of Freemasonry in Pennsylvania | |
| Lower North Philadelphia | Historic house | Colonial era mansion | |
| Mummers Museum | South Philadelphia | Art | website, costumes from the Mummers Parade |
| Center City | History | History of the American Revolution | |
| Center City | Medical | Collection of medical oddities, anatomical and pathological specimens, wax models, and antique medical equipment | |
| Center City | History | History and relevance of the United States Constitution | |
| Center City | History | Eight galleries focus on heroism, freedom, diversity, faith and more; includes over 100 works in glass illustrating the beauty and fragility of freedom | |
| North Philadelphia | Religious | Shrine with museum about John Neumann | |
| New Hall Military Museum | Center City | Military | website, part of Independence National Historical Park, exhibits about the founding of the United States Marine Corps and the Army and Navy Departments |
| Center City | History | Part of Independence National Historical Park, site of the first U.S. Supreme Court | |
| Center City | Art | Non-profit artist-centered performance space and gallery particularly oriented to presenting the work of local Philadelphia artists | |
| West Philadelphia | African American | Legacy of Paul Robeson, community art exhibits | |
| Center City | Art | Oldest art museum and school in the nation, 19th- and 20th-century American paintings, sculptures, and works on paper | |
| Center City | Art | Institution hosts art exhibits, theater and music workshops, poetry readings, lectures, concerts and recitals | |
| Lower North Philadelphia | Toy | African, Europeans American Folk Art dolls, the renowned Roberta Bell Doll Collection, American and internationally manufactured dolls and more; emphasis on black dolls | |
| Center City | Local history | History museum for the City of Philadelphia (currently closed, future unknown)[4] | |
| Lower North Philadelphia | Art | European, Asian and American fine art, furniture and decorative arts, arms & armor, period rooms | |
| Lower North Philadelphia | Art | Part of Congregation Rodeph Shalom, exhibits contemporary art that illuminates the Jewish experience | |
| South Philadelphia | Art | Mosaic-covered gardens, building and art gallery | |
| West Philadelphia | Children's | Interactive museum to promote learning in children | |
| Polish American Cultural Center Museum | Center City | Ethnic - Polish | website |
| Center City | Historic house | Operated by the Philadelphia Society for the Preservation of Landmarks, 18th-century Georgian townhouse mansion | |
| Center City | Art | website, contemporary printmaking and photography | |
| Germantown | Historic village | 18th and 19th century houses. Site of British North America's first paper mill and birthplace of David Rittenhouse | |
| Center City | Art | Largest collection of sculptor Auguste Rodin's works outside Paris | |
| Romanian Folk Art Museum | Center City | Ethnic - Romania | website, Romanian costumes, rugs, pottery, furniture and a full Transylvanian interior |
| Center City | Art, Library | Rare miniature portraits, 18th- and 19th-century British and American furniture and decorative art, rare books, manuscripts and illustrations, collection of works by Maurice Sendak | |
| Northeast Philadelphia | Historic house | Mansion with Asian and European decorative arts, located in Burholme Park | |
| South Philadelphia | Art | Community art centre, contains art by Violet Oakley, tiles by Henry Chapman Mercer, 18th-century Portuguese art, primitive European art, religious art from the original church | |
| Science History Institute (formerly the Chemical Heritage Foundation) | Center City | Science | History of science, particularly chemistry, and the role science plays in the modern world |
| Second Bank of the United States | Center City | Art | Part of Independence National Historical Park, art gallery exhibits of Colonial and Federal leaders, military officers, explorers and scientists, including many by Charles Willson Peale |
| West Philadelphia | Historic house | Part of Fairmount Park, traditional 17th-century–style Japanese house and garden | |
| Southwest Philadelphia | Automotive | Collection of over 65 historically significant racing sports cars | |
| North Philadelphia | Historic house | Early American Georgian architecture, operated by The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America | |
| North Philadelphia | Historic house | late 18th-century house located in Fairmount Park | |
| Center City | Maritime | 1883 tall sailing ship Gazela, the 1902 iron tugboat Jupiter and lighter barge Poplar open for tours | |
| Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine Shoe Museum | Lower North Philadelphia | Clothing | Open by appointment, part of Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine[5] |
| Center City | Historic house | Historic house where wounded Polish freedom fighter Thaddeus Kosciuszko lived | |
| Lower North Philadelphia | Art | Features Temple Contemporary gallery | |
| West Philadelphia | Archaeology, Anthropology | Artifacts from Egypt, China, Mesopotamia, Greco-Roman antiquities, Buddhist art, African art, and Mayan and other Pre-Columbian artifacts | |
| Germantown | Historic house | Late 18th century house | |
| Lower North Philadelphia | Natural history | Victorian cases and hand-labeled natural history specimens arranged in the 1880s | |
| Center City | Jewish | Story of Jews in America | |
| Center City | History | Include a stagecoach, telegraph equipment, historic clothing and currency | |
| North Philadelphia | Historic house | Part of Fairmount Park, houses collection of antique household goods, including Colonial furniture, unusual clocks and English delftware | |
| Northwest Philadelphia | Art | Paintings, prints, sculpture and photographs focusing on artists from the Delaware Valley | |
| Germantown | Historic house | Oldest house in Germantown | |
List of museums in PennsylvaniaList of tourist attractions in Philadelphia}