The Best Museums in St. Petersburg, Florida

Classic pieces of art at award winning museums and works by Chihuly, Monet and Dali aren’t something many visitors to St. Petersburg, FL expect. A popular vacation spot, St. Petersburg is known for sunshine and beaches but it’s also an artist hotspot praised for its museums. Be sure you don’t miss out on these museums in St Petersburg. Let find out The Best Museums in St. Petersburg, Florida below.

The Best Museums in St. Petersburg, Florida

Salvador Dalí Museum

Home to the biggest collection of Salvador Dalí works outside Spain, the Salvador Dalí Museum sits on the waterfront of downtown. There are over 2,400 works by the surrealist artist, including photographs, drawings, sculptures and paintings. It is also home to the most masterpieces by Dalí, including The Hallucinogenic Toreador. The Dalí began as a collection of Dalí works started by an Ohio couple. As it grew, the art required a new home and St.
Petersburg won the search. The first museum in St. Petersburg opened in 1982. It’s current building, which opened in 2011, moderates the humidity and is hurricane resistant. In addition to the permanent exhibit, there are outdoor gardens to explore, rotating exhibits, a museum store and a café.

Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg

The Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg (MFA) opened in 1965 as the first art museum in the city. With tall columns at the building entrance, MFA stands out from surrounding structures. With more than 20,000 pieces belonging to the museum, there are works by Georgia O’Keefe, Monet, Rodin and Andrew Wyeth. The galleries contain worldwide art, including pre Colombian, Asian, ancient Greek, Native American and African pieces. MFA also is home to one of the largest photography collections in the Southeastern United States. Located downtown on the waterfront, MFA has several outdoor areas to sit and relax, including a sculpture garden.

St. Petersburg Museum of History

The oldest museum in the county, the St. Petersburg Museum of History, highlights the city’s history and its surrounding areas. Located at the beginning of the St. Petersburg Pier, the museum gives visitors a location that has seen many changes over the past 100 years and is one of the city’s hot spots.
The museum offers exhibits on the architecture of St. Petersburg, local artist creations, the history of the city and a replica of the plane used for the first commercial flight, which took off from St. Petersburg in 1914. The museum is also home to Little Cooperstown, home to the world’s largest signed baseball collection. Signatures include Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Joe DiMaggio and even Fidel Castro.

James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art

More than 26,000 square feet in downtown is home to The James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art. The museum founders wanted to showcase their love of the western portion of the United States’ art and wildlife. The museum, which opened in 2017, was designed to showcase the unique art of The James.
The stone entryway and two story waterfall welcomes visitors and sets the tone. The themed galleries include the Early West, Native Artists and Wildlife and feature paintings and sculptures. In addition to the art, there are also family and adult workshops, a museum store and a café.

The Florida Holocaust Museum

Founded in 1982 by a local businessman who had escaped Nazi Germany, The Florida Holocaust Museum’s purpose is to educate the past and how we can avoid future genocides. It is one of the largest Holocaust museums in the United States. The permanent exhibit teaches about how the Holocaust began, the rise of the Nazi party and the non Jewish victims of the Holocaust. There is also a train boxcar on its original rails on display that is one of the few remaining train cars used to transport prisoners to concentration camps. There are also rotating exhibits to see too. In addition to exhibits, The Florida Holocaust Museum offers speaking presentations from Holocaust survivors and second generation survivors. As many of the surviving victims have passed on, this is a unique opportunity.

Morean Arts Center

Originally founded as the Art Club of St. Petersburg, Morean Arts Center has become a multi location facility to promote various arts, including glass and clay making. The central downtown location’s galleries have permanent exhibits featuring local artists. There are also several rotating exhibits. Morean Arts Center offers art classes in different mediums, workshops and art camps for kids.