MUSEUMS
Austin History Center
810 Guadalupe, Austin; 512-974-7480
www.ci.austin.tx.us/library/ahc/
As the local history collection of the Austin
Public Library, the Austin History Center
provides the public with information about
the history, current events and activities of
Austin and Travis County. It collects and
preserves information about local governments, businesses, residents, institutions and
neighborhoods so that generations to come
will have access to our history.
Austin Nature and Science Center
301 Nature Center Drive, Austin
512-327-8181; www.ci.austin.tx.us/ansc
Located in the Zilker Park Nature Preserve,
the center is often the first opportunity for
urban Austinites to see their wild neighbors
up close and personal. The Birds of Prey
exhibit shows injured hawks, vultures, and
owls that are slowly being nursed back to
health, while smaller animals are on view
in the Small Wonders exhibition. Children
are encouraged to participate as “Eco Detectives” and try a variety of different hands-on
activities throughout the center.
Blanton Museum of Art
200 E. MLK Jr. Blvd., Austin
512-471-7324; www.blantonmuseum.org
The Blanton offers visitors a compelling and
wide-ranging art experience, showcasing
modern and contemporary American art,
Latin American art, Italian Renaissance and
Baroque paintings, and an encyclopedic collection of prints and drawings. Public programs
include live music, gallery talks and interactive
family activities. Ellsworth Kelly’s Austin, the
only freestanding building designed by the
artist, will open in February 2018 as part of
the Blanton’s permanent collection.
Bullock Texas State History Museum
1800 North Congress Avenue, Austin
512-936-8746; www.thestoryoftexas.com
Nestled between the Capitol Complex and The
University of Texas at Austin, this museum is
impressively large – but then, what else would
do when it comes to telling the story of Texas?
Museum pieces alternate between iconic arti-
facts like famed explorer Robert La Salle’s
shipwreck La Belle, to the whimsical, such as
the tree branch from the television set of the
Austin City Limits television program, to the
out-and-out amazing like Texas Instrument’s
first integrated circuit, the chip that changed
the world and is the genesis of almost every
electronic product used today. State-of-the art
media pieces, traveling and special exhibitions,
a multisensory special-effects theater, and the
state’s only Laser IMAX theater, make Texas
history come alive.
The Contemporary Austin – Jones Center
700 West Congress Avenue, Austin
512-453-5312; thecontemporaryaustin.org
Formerly known as the Austin Museum
of Art - Arthouse at the Jones Center, The
Contemporary Austin, renamed in 2013,
creates meaningful opportunities to investigate
and experience the art of our times through
exhibitions, programs, and commissions of
new work. In the heart of downtown Austin,
the award-winning building renovations in
2010 make for a very impressive gallery,
complete with offices, studios, meeting rooms,
and a special rooftop deck that hosts outdoor
film screenings, music performances, as well
as special events and weddings.
The Contemporary Austin –
Laguna Gloria
3809 West 35th Street, Austin
512-458-8191; thecontemporaryaustin.org
The foresighted Clara Driscoll, who saved
San Antonio’s Alamo from destruction,
also deeded her estate to the Texas Fine
Arts Commission. It seems fitting, then,
that this beautiful 1915 Mediterranean-style
villa and grounds would become home to
the Austin Museum of Art in 1961 and an
art school. Renamed in 2013, The Contemporary - Laguna Gloria continues to offer
the Art School, as well as community art
education, small exhibits of art, and features
a new sculpture garden, opening in May
2014. The beautiful natural setting is ideal for
music, art, weddings and many special events
throughout the year. This non-traditional
museum is totally worth a visit.
Dougherty Arts Center
1110 Barton Springs Road, Austin
512-397-1458; www.ci.austin.tx.us/dougherty
Another fine example of Austin’s ability to
retrofit an art space out of the most unlikely
of locations, the Dougherty originally was
the site of a Naval and Marine Reserve base.
Now a full-on city-sponsored home for visual
and performing arts, the Dougherty boasts an
art gallery, theater, and studio-lab, although the
center is best known for the wide variety of arts
classes offered to Austinites, including music,
dance, painting, photography, and many more.
Elizabet Ney Museum
304 E. 44th Street, Austin
512-458-2255; www.ci.austin.tx.us/elisabetney
Built in 1892, this was the home/retreat/
studio of sculptor Elizabet Ney. Christened
“Formosa” (the word for “beautiful” in Portuguese), Ney designed this space in two parts
– first building the working studio section,
then building a living space for Ney and her
husband ten years later. Inside the studio
section, visitors will find full-figure statues of
Texas heroes sculpted by Ney while in Texas,
as well as other sculptures made by Ney of
European notables. Especially impressive are
the sculptures of Lady Macbeth, Prometheus
Bound, and SURSUM, a study of two young
nude boys. Visitors are also given insights to
the personal life of this unusually gifted and
talented woman who made such an impact
on Texas and the Texas arts community.
French Legation Museum
802 San Marcos Street, Austin
512-472-8180; frenchlegationmuseum.org
Nestled away in east Austin, if you drive
too quickly down East Seventh Street
you might miss this beautiful 2.5-acre
property that has come under the care of
the Daughters of the Republic of Texas.
Lovingly restored to its original grandeur,
the French Legation was originally built in
1840-41, and was the short-term residence
of a French diplomat during days when
