This list of museums in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

is a list of

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

s, defined for this context as institutions (including

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

s, 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 non-profit and university art galleries. Museums that exist only in cyberspace (i.e.,

virtual museum A virtual museum is a digital entity that draws on the characteristics of a museum, in order to complement, enhance, or augment the museum experience through personalization, interactivity, and richness of content. Virtual museums can perform as t ...

s) are not included. To use the sortable tables: click on the icons at the top of each column to sort that column in alphabetical order; click again for reverse alphabetical order.

Central Coast and Monterey Bay Area

Includes

Monterey Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bot ...

, San Benito,

San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo (; Spanish for " St. Louis the Bishop", ; Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, in the U.S. state of California. Located on the Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly hal ...

, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz and Ventura counties

Inland Empire

Riverside County Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Uni ...

and

San Bernardino County San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181, ...

(includes the Coachella Valley)

Los Angeles County

North Coast

Includes Del Norte, Humboldt,

Lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

, and Mendocino counties

Orange County

San Diego County

San Francisco Bay Area

Includes

Alameda An alameda is a Avenue (landscape), street or path lined with trees () and may refer to: Places Canada *Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan **Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan Chile ...

, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa,

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma counties

San Joaquin Valley

Includes

Fresno Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

Kern KERN (1180 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station city of license, licensed to Wasco, California, Wasco-Greenacres, California, and serving the Bakersfield metropolitan area. The station is owned by American General ...

, Kings, Madera, Merced, Joaquin, Stanislaus and Tulare counties

Shasta Cascade

Includes

Butte __NOTOC__ In geomorphology, a butte () is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from a French word me ...

, Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama and

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...

counties

Elsewhere

The museums below are found in the following counties, which may be split over different regions: *

Gold Country The Gold Country (also known as Mother Lode Country) is a historic region in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, that is primarily on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada. It is famed for the mineral deposits and gold mines ...

- includes Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, Mariposa,

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

, Placer, Sierra and Tuolumne counties. * High Sierra - includes Amador, El Dorado, Inyo, Mariposa, Mono and Placer counties *

Imperial Valley , photo = Salton Sea from Space.jpg , photo_caption = The Imperial Valley below the Salton Sea. The US-Mexican border runs diagonally across the lower left of the image. , map_image = Newriverwatershed-1-.jpg , map_caption = Map of Imperial ...

Imperial County Imperial Count (german: Reichsgraf) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. In the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly ( immediately) from the emperor, rather than from ...

Napa Valley Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in Napa County in California's Wine Country. It was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) on January 27, 1981. Napa Valley is considered one of the premier ...

- Napa County * Sacramento Valley - includes Colusa, Placer,

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties

Defunct museums

* American Victorian Museum, Nevada City, also known as Teddy Bear Castle Museum, * ARCO Center for Visual Art,

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

* Atascadero Historical Society Museum, closed due to the 2003 San Simeon earthquake, seeking new location * Briggs Cunningham Museum, an automotive museum in

Costa Mesa Costa may refer to: Biology * Rib (Latin: ''costa''), in vertebrate anatomy * Costa (botany), the central strand of a plant leaf or thallus * Costa (coral), a stony rib, part of the skeleton of a coral * Costa (entomology), the leading edge of th ...

, closed in 1986
website
*

California State Military Museum The California State Military Museum was the official Military museum of the State of California. It was located in the Old Sacramento State Historic Park at 1119 Second Street. A new site is under development and the museum is expected to reope ...

, Sacramento, closed in 2014 * Carole & Barry Kaye Museum of Miniatures, Los Angeles, closed 2001
collection can be seen online
* Celebrity Lingerie Hall of Fame, Hollywood, operated by

Frederick's of Hollywood Frederick's of Hollywood is an American lingerie brand formerly with stores in shopping malls across the United States. In 2015, all 111 retail stores were closed in advance of a bankruptcy filing. The brand was acquired by Authentic Brands Gro ...

, museum closed in 2005, displayed sexy Frederick's underwear worn by famous stars
information
* Children's Discovery Museum of North San Diego County, Carlsbad, closed in 2006 * Copia, Napa, closed in 2008 *

Exotic World Burlesque Museum The Burlesque Hall of Fame (BHOF) is the world's only museum dedicated to the history, preservation, and future of the art of burlesque. Located in the Las Vegas Arts district at 1027 S Main st. #110, BHOF is a tourist destination and non-pro ...

, moved from Helendale to

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

* Forrest Ackerman's Sci-Fi Mansion, Hollywood, science fiction memorabilia, closed in 2003
information
* Fort Roosevelt Natural Science and History Museum, Hanford * Guinness World Record Museum, San Francisco location; a museum still exists in Hollywood * Hays Antique Truck Museum,

Woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (se ...

, collection moved to

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

in 2013, * Helen Moe Antique Doll Museum, Paso Robles * Hollywood Entertainment Museum
archive of former website
closed in 2006 (website also closed by 2014) * Hollywood Erotic Museum * Imaginarium of Nevada County, Nevada City, closed in 2010 * Kenneth G. Fiske Museum of Musical Instruments, Claremont, located at the

Claremont Colleges The Claremont Colleges (known colloquially as the 7Cs) are a consortium of seven private institutions of higher education located in Claremont, California, United States. They comprise five undergraduate colleges (the 5Cs)— Pomona College, Sc ...

, collection sold to Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix * Lake Arrowhead Children's Museum, closed in 2006 * Lechler Museum, Piru, closed in 2000 and contents auctioned
interview with owner
* Max Factor Museum, Los Angeles, closed in 1996
information
museum about

Max Factor Max Factor is a line of cosmetics from Coty, Inc. It was founded in 1909 as Max Factor & Company by Maksymilian Faktorowicz. Max Factor specialized in movie make-up. Until its 1973 sale for US$500 million (approximately $ billion in 2017 dolla ...

and movie make-up history; building now houses the Hollywood Museum *

Mingei International Museum The Mingei International Museum is a non-profit public institution that collects, conserves and exhibits folk art, craft and design. The museum was founded in 1974, and its building opened in 1978. The word mingei, meaning 'art of the people,' wa ...

, Escondido location closed in June 2010http://www.mingei.org/about/history.php Mingei history * Movieland Wax Museum * Ripley's Believe It or Not!,

Buena Park Buena Park (''Buena'', Spanish for "Good") is a city in Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census its population was 84,034. It is the location of several tourist attractions, namely Knott's Berry Farm. It is about 12 m ...

location closed in 2009 * Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum, Victorville, moved to

Branson, Missouri Branson is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri. Most of the city is situated in Taney County, with a small portion in the west extending into Stone County. Branson is in the Ozark Mountains. The community was named after Reuben Branson, postm ...

official site
* San Diego Computer Museum, holdings gifted to the

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

Library, no
web-based only
* Treasure Island Museum, San Francisco
website
closed in 1997 but trying to reopen, interpreted the American experience in the Pacific as lived by the men and women of the U.S. sea services: the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard

References

External links

Museums in the USA: CaliforniaCalifornia Association of MuseumsLA Tourist: Museums
* ttp://www.laokay.com/ Things to do in Los Angeles {{DEFAULTSORT:Museums In California *

*Museums

Museums A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

Central Coast and Monterey Bay Area

Inland Empire

Los Angeles County

North Coast

Orange County

San Diego County

San Francisco Bay Area

San Joaquin Valley

Shasta Cascade

Elsewhere

Defunct museums

See also

References

External links