Pilgrim Hall Museum

Pilgrim Hall
Pilgrim Hall Museum, the oldest public museum in the United States
Location 75 Court St
Plymouth, Massachusetts
Architect Alexander Parris
Architectural style Greek Revival
NRHP Reference # 72001298[1]
Added to NRHP April 11, 1972

The Pilgrim Hall Museum at 75 Court Street in Plymouth, Massachusetts is the oldest public museum in the United States in continuous operation, having opened in 1824.

History

The Pilgrim Society, established in 1820, runs the museum. The museum tells the story of the Pilgrims and Plymouth Colony. Architect Alexander Parris designed the museum building, which is built of Quincy granite and opened in 1824. Russell Warren constructed a wooden portico in 1834, which had Doric columns supporting a triangular pediment. The museum was extensively upgraded in the 1880s, and a library wing added in 1904. In 1922 the original wooden portico was replaced by the present six-column Greek Revival temple front, which was designed by McKim Mead & White.[2] In 2008, an addition was added to the museum along with a new sign, activities, and advertising throughout the downtown area. Its building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

Collections

The Pilgrim Hall Museum contains artifact collections, artwork, a library and archives. Prominent pieces include original Pilgrim era artifacts, such as...

The top part of Plymouth Rock sat in front of the building from the 1830s to the 1880s when it was reunited with the bottom half in the Plymouth waterfront. A portion of the Rock was retained at the museum where visitors are currently permitted to touch it.

See also

References

  1. Staff (2008-04-15). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. "MACRIS inventory record for Pilgrim Hall". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2015-04-17.

Further reading

Sparrow Hawk

External links and references

Images

Coordinates: 41°57′32″N 70°40′04″W / 41.95889°N 70.66778°W / 41.95889; -70.66778

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, August 16, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.