With the distinction of being the only museum in the United States solely devoted to historic and contemporary design, the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in Manhattan, New York City was founded in 1897 and made a branch of the Smithsonian Institution in 1967. The mission of the museum is to increase public knowledge of design over the course of 24 centuries of “human creativity” with 250,000 design objects on display in the collection at the Museum. Exhibit categories include Drawings, Prints, Graphic Design, Product Design & Decorative Arts, Textiles and Wallcoverings. The actual museum is housed inside the Andrew Carnegie Mansion on Fifth Avenue, as well as two historic townhouses complete with terrace and garden. The museum also features a design library, many exhibitions, educational programs, a degree-granting master’s program, and sponsors the National Design Awards. The museum is open to the public from 10am-5pm Monday to Friday, 10am-6pm Saturdays and Noon-6pm on Sundays. General admissions are $10 for adults, $5 for seniors and students with ID, and free for children under 12, and the museum can easily be reached by public transportation on the Subway’s 4, 5 and 6 lines, or by Fifth and Madison public buses.
With its Upper East Side Museum Mile location, the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum is nearby other world-famous attractions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, El Museo del Barrio, the Museum of the City of New York, the International Center of Photography, the Jewish Museum, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Neue Galerie New York, the Fifth and Madison Avenue shopping districts and Central Park. Visitors may choose from area accommodations like the Hotel Wales, the Franklin Hotel, the Park Lane Helmsley Hotel, Wanderers Inn, the Courtyard Marriott New York Manhattan/Upper East Side and the Jumeirah Essex House.
For more information about the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum or to plan a visit, see the official webpage, at: http://cooperhewitt.org/.
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