Must-See Museums
A U.S. News tour of the new and noteworthy with local experts in tow |c Washington, D.C.; Houston; Santa Ana, California; Portland, Oregon; New York; Atlanta; Birmingham, Alabama; Jersey City, New Jersey; Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles
The second part of the museum deals exclusively with the Holocaust and is as somber and purged of color as the Tolerance Center is bright and alive. Visitors journey from scenes of prewar Berlin to the gates of Auschwitz, encountering animated figures of Nazi perpetrators, collaborators and bystanders along the way. Although all the exhibits are painstakingly accurate, there are no artifacts. In the gas-chamberlike Hall of Testimony, the final stop on the tour, the personal accounts of Holocaust survivors are broadcast on television monitors.
Visitors can roam the Tolerance wing freely, usually in under an hour. The Holocaust section must be seen by tour, which takes about two and a half hours. The museum is not recommended for children under 11 and is closed on Saturday. Sun. 10:30-8:30, Mon.-Wed. 10-7:30, Thurs. 10-10:30, Fri. 10-5. Admission: $7.50 adults, $5.50 seniors, $4.50 students and $2.50 children 3-12.
UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM Washington, D.C., (202) 488-0400 In the two months since it opened, this museum has been praised for its powerful exhibit on Hitler's war against the Jews and its disconcerting, industrial-style architecture. But seeing it can be difficult: Signs aren't always clear, three to four hours are needed to do the museum justice and the ticketing system adds to the chaos. To control crowds, ticket holders are assigned a time; lines for free tickets start forming at about 8:30 a.m. on weekdays, 7:30 a.m. on weekends. You can reserve $3.50 tickets in advance by calling Ticketmaster, (800) 551-7328.
The quantity and emotional weight of the material argue for two visits, suggests Richard Breitman, professor of history at American University and author of "Architect of Genocide: Himmler and the Final Solution." To skirt summer crowds, tourists might aim for a 10 a.m. start, with a brisk walk through the fourth-floor display on the Nazi rise to power. On the lower floores, Breitman says, it is easy to miss some potent displays--a rusty old milk can, for example, which was buried in Warsaw in 1942 or 1943 by historian Emanuel Ringelblum, who filled it with documents attesting to Jewish suffering; it was unearthed in 1950 by construction workers. The telegram dated Aug. 29, 1942, on the second floor, proves the U.S. State Department knew of the death camps early in the war. The text panels in the second floor display on "Rescuers" offer rare moments of inspiration: Stories of a German intelligence agent, a Polish housekeeper, a Bulgarian bishop and others who risked their lives to save Jews. The museum's permanent exhibition is recommended for ages 11 and up. "Remember the Children: Daniel's Story" is a separate exhibit for ages 8 to 14; no tickets are needed. Daily 10-5:30 except Yom Kippur and Christmas. Admission: free.
ART THE BOWERS MUSEUM OF CULTURAL ART Santa Ana, Calif., (714) 567-3600 Diversity is the buzzword at the compact Bowers, which reopened last October after a three-year, $12 million face lift that tripled exhibit space. Subject matter ranges from pre-Columbian archaeological finds to the art and architecture of 20th-century Orange County. The permanent collections of indigenous art from the Pacific Rim, Africa and the Americas are "wonderful for getting historic information in a charming and well-executed way," says Darryl Curran, chairman of the art department at California State University, Fullerton. He recommends that visitors with limited time head for the two special exhibits. Through July 31, there's "Art of the Himalayas: Treasures From Nepal and Tibet," 115 works dating back to the 7th century. Visitors might start at the end of the exhibit with the 28-minute video presentation that explains the religious significance of the Buddhist and Hindu objects glittering in the galleries. The "Head of Bhairava," an enormous 16th-century hammered gilt copper mask that dominates a gallery mid-exhibit, is particularly impressive both for its proportions and its fascinating function: A beerlike drink used to flow from the mouth during Tibetan religious celebrations.
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