America is home to many famous museums, allowing visitors to see various artworks, artifacts, and other significant historical items in these places. But those items aren’t the only interesting things in the country’s highly-visited museums. After all, there are a lot of interesting facts about these museums as well!
With that said, here are the top 7 fascinating facts about America’s most famous museums below. If you are visiting any of these museums in the future, be sure to remember these facts before your upcoming trip!
1. The American National Museum of History Hosts a ton of Infrastructures Inside its Premises
The AMNH takes up over two million square feet in size. Due to its massive size, it shouldn’t be shocking to know that it hosts a ton of linked infrastructures inside its premises. These include 28 linked buildings and 45 exhibition areas. And if that wasn’t huge enough for you, this museum even includes a huge eight-story library and an 87-foot-diameter planetarium!
2. The American Museum of National History Has Appeared in Several Movies
Do you want to know another fascinating fact about AMNH? Even if you haven’t physically visited the said museum, there’s a good chance you may have already seen it in several movies! After all, some of the AMNH’s interior spots showed up in movies such as The Devil Wears Prada and Night at the Museum, to name a few.
3. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Used to Be Located Somewhere Else
Everyone knows that The Metropolitan Museum of Art also referred to as The Met for short, is located on Fifth Avenue in New York. But The Met wasn’t always located in that location. After all, this art museum was initially located in a big mansion on West Fourteenth Street.
At the time, The Met started with 200 European artworks. The Met eventually expanded its number of artworks, and the first location was deemed too small to host the museum’s growing art collection. Due to this, The Met eventually moved to its bigger home located on Fifth Avenue during its completion in 1879.
4. The Met Has a Designated In-House Florist
Aside from The Met’s interesting history regarding its old whereabouts, another fascinating fact about this museum is its gorgeous display of towering flowers in the vicinity. These stunning, eye-catching floral arrangements are maintained by Remco van Vliet, who happens to be the museum’s in-house florist.
Van Vliet mentions that he makes the arrangements based on the museum’s art collection. And thanks to his spectacular floral arrangements, customers are greeted with pleasant floral scents and beautiful scenery. So, if you’re ever stopping by The Met, make sure to take a good look at these flowers!
5. The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Ribbon for Its Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony was Cut by a Mechanical Arm Using a Signal Sent from Space
This space museum in Washington, D.C., held its ribbon-cutting ceremony in a space-like manner. And they did this by having a mechanical arm cut the ribbon, which was activated using a signal sent from outer space. After all, the Viking One spacecraft was orbiting Mars on the day of the museum’s opening.
The said spacecraft delivered a signal to one of NASA’s labs headquartered in Pasadena, California. They then transmitted the signal to the National Air and Space Museum that powered up the mechanical arm responsible for cutting the ribbon for the ceremony. That’s quite an interesting way to open your museum!
6. The National Gallery of Art is the Only Museum in the U.S. to Host a Work by Leonardo Da Vinci
The National Gallery of Art, which boasted a total of over four million visits during 2019, is also the only U.S. museum to display a painting made by Leonardo Da Vinci. The specific painting in question was Da Vinci’s painting of Ginevra de Benci.
The said Da Vinci work was initially owned by Franz Joseph II, who was Liechtenstein’s reigning price from 1938 until he died in 1989. He made the sale to the National Gallery of Art in 1967 to acquire funds for his son’s marriage.
7. The Museum of Modern Art Used to Be Located in Three Different Temporary Locations
The Mona is the first-ever museum that was established and dedicated to modern artworks. And just like The Met, The Museum of Modern Art’s (also called The MoMa) original home wasn’t where it currently stands.
Before moving into its permanent and present location on West 53rd Street, The MoMa used to be located in three different temporary locations, including office rooms and gallery areas on the twelfth level of the Heckscher Building on Fifth Avenue.
Conclusion
America’s famous museums are not just amusing due to the historical items and artworks they hold. After all, each of these museums also hosts fascinating facts you may not even be aware of before stumbling across this article. Now that you know these facts, you can visit these museums with even more knowledge about them!
