St. Petersburg: Museums on Display

Ideally situated on Florida’s Gulf Coast, St. Petersburg has long been known for its tropical weather and sandy beaches. But, did you know that there is also a lively museum and arts scene? In fact, St. Petersburg has more museums per capita than any place in the state of Florida, and rivals that of many other cities in the world!

DOWNTOWN

The Dali Museum is the crown jewel of the St. Pete museum scene. While the surrounding gardens and stunning waterfront views are works of art by themselves, the galleries, that host the largest collection of Salvador Dali’s work outside of Spain, and the museum building itself are what Conde Nast Traveler named “one of the most beautiful museums in the world”.

If surreal art is not your thing, just walk up Bayshore Drive to the Museum of Fine Arts to take in the works of classical and contemporary masters like Renoir and Cézanne. History buffs can visit the nearby St. Petersburg Museum of History with an exhibit on the beginning of commercial air travel.

Also downtown is The James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art Gallery where you can learn the fascinating story of the American West through displays of contemporary Western, Native American, frontier, & wildlife paintings, sculpture and unique jewelry.

The newest addition to St. Petersburg’s museum scene is the soon to open Museum of the American Arts and Crafts Museum featuring collections of furniture, pottery, tile, metalwork, lighting, photography and other decorative arts from the American Arts and Crafts movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

CENTRAL AVENUE

The Central Avenue corridor is home to several museums and galleries.  Browse affordable works by local artists at Florida CraftArt, which also offers tours of the city’s “outdoor museum” of 500+ murals.

Just one block south from Florida CraftArt is the The Florida Holocaust Museum, a must-see for its poignant presentation of Holocaust history.

Back on Central Avenue you’ll find the Morean Arts Center showing contemporary work from around the world. You can also witness local glass artists creating art live in the Glass Studio.

Across the street, the Morean Arts Center presents the Chihuly Collection, the first permanent exhibit of the master glass artisan, Dale Chihuly. Chihuly is world renowned for his large scale blown glass sculptures and installations, some of which were created specifically for this venue.

Stroll further down Central Ave and get inspired at the Imagine Museum, dedicated to contemporary American studio glass. “Its primary collection displays the explosive growth and diversification of the studio glass movement in America since the 1960's, and extends to new directions in contemporary glass.”

WAREHOUSE ARTS DISTRICT

The Warehouse Arts District is home to more than 200 artists. Monthly community events and private art tours that feature world renowned artists have turned this industrial wasteland into a hip & funky destination for art tourists and locals alike.

At the heart of the Warehouse Arts District, is the Morean Center for Clay, located in a renovated historic train station. Here you’ll find exhibitions, studio space, gallery sales, educational courses in working with clay, and a renowned artist-in-residence program.

A former fish and tomato packing plant, the Duncan McClellan Gallery boasts 3,000 square feet of gallery spaces and 5,000 square feet of outdoor courtyards and lushly planted sculpture gardens all to showcase nationally and internationally recognized glass artists.

Just outside of the Warehouse Arts District, is the Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum, which aims to preserve, present and interpret the history of African Americans broadly and their specific role in the history of St. Petersburg.

AROUND TOWN

Families with kids will enjoy spending time at the Great Explorations Children’s Museum. While, automobile enthusiasts won’t want to miss the Tampa Bay Automobile Museum which displays historic automobiles from the 20th century. The Museum features more than fifty automobiles from around the world, and is also home to a reproduction of the world's first self-propelled vehicle, the Fardier de Cugnot.

From kids to cowboys, artists to autos, and glass works to the stories of history, the St. Petersburg museum scene has something for everyone!