This list of museums in California is a list of 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 non-profit and university art galleries. Museums that exist only in cyberspace (i.e., virtual museums) 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, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz and Ventura counties
Inland Empire
Riverside County and San Bernardino County (includes Ontario)
Includes Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, and Mendocino counties
Includes Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma counties
Includes Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced, Joaquin, Stanislaus and Tulare counties
Includes Butte, Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama and Trinity counties
The museums below are found in the following counties, which may be split over different regions:
Gold Country - includes Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, Mariposa, Nevada, Placer, Sierra and Tuolumne counties.
High Sierra - includes Amador, El Dorado, Inyo, Mariposa, Mono and Placer counties
Imperial Valley - Imperial County
Napa Valley - Napa County
Sacramento Valley - includes Colusa, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties
American Victorian Museum, Nevada City, also known as Teddy Bear Castle Museum,
ARCO Center for Visual Art, Los Angeles
Atascadero Historical Society Museum, closed due to the 2003 San Simeon earthquake, seeking new location
Briggs Cunningham Museum, an automotive museum in Costa Mesa, closed in 1986 (website)
California State Military Museum, 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, 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, moved from Helendale to Las Vegas, Nevada
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, collection moved to Reno, Nevada 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 Claremont College, 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 and movie make-up history; building now houses the Hollywood Museum
Mingei International Museum, Escondido location closed in June 2010
Movieland Wax Museum
Ripley's Believe It or Not!, Buena Park location closed in 2009
Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum, Victorville, moved to Branson, Missouri, official site
San Diego Computer Museum, holdings gifted to the San Diego State University Library, now 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
