This list of museums in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, encompasses museums defined for this context as institutions, including nonprofit organizations, 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 university and non-profit art galleries. Museums that exist only in cyberspace, such as virtual museums, are not included.
Current museums
Defunct museums
- Curtis Center Museum of Norman Rockwell Art, Philadelphia, closed in 1997
- Insectarium, opened in 1992 and closed in 2023.
- National Philatelic Museum, Philadelphia, opened in 1948, closed in 1959
- Neon Museum of Philadelphia, closed in 2022, 2 years after it opened.
- Peale's Philadelphia Museum opened in 1784, closed in 1849
- Philadelphia Art Alliance, closed in June 2024, following the bankruptcy and abrupt closure of its parent institution, the University of the Arts. A center for visual, literary and performing arts since 1915, its building on Rittenhouse Square was sold to the Curtis Institute of Music in January 2025.
- Philadelphia Commercial Museum, opened in 1899 and closed in 1994. Its building was demolished for an expansion of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
- Sweetbriar Mansion, closed since 2014. The late-18th-century house museum, located in west Fairmount Park, was operated by the Modern Club of Philadelphia from 1939 to 2014.
References
See also
List of museums in Pennsylvania<br>List of tourist attractions in Philadelphia