NYC Offbeat Mini-Museums

Want to take a detour off the beaten culture track for an hour or two? Why not bypass Fifth Avenue's Museum Mile and sample one of the many unconventional small museums located throughout the five boroughs. Most offer tours that help clarify the collections - and you'll never have to crane your neck to see a painting over the heads of a crowd. Bear in mind that hours at these mini-museums may be offbeat as well, so call ahead for schedules before popping in.

The Abigail Adams Smith Museum
421 East 61^st St. between First and York Avenues (212) 838-6878
Located in a carriage house on the former estate of the daughter of our second President, John Adams. Decorative arts and furniture of the 1820s and 30s are showcased

The African-American Wax Museum, 
316 West 115^th St. 
(212) 678-7818
 Madame Toussaud's, Harlem-style, with Booker T. Washington, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Duke Ellington, Josephine Baker, Magic Johnson and other black heroes immortalized in wax.

The American Numismatic Society
Broadway at 155^th St. 
(212) 234-3130 A museum of money, from cowry shells to credit cards. Some of the most ancient coins ever minted are found here, as well as paper money dating back about 1,000 years.

Garibaldi-Meucci Museum
 420 Tompkins Avenue, Rosebank, Staten Island (718) 442-1608
 Dedicated to Antonio Meucci, who filed a patent for the telephone in 1871, five years before Alexander Graham Bell, and his frequent house guest, Giuseppe Garibaldi, the famed Italian freedom fighter. On view are reproductions of Meucci's bell-shaped ear pieces and a piano he made of willow branches, as well as Garibaldi's swords and red shirt.

Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art
338 Lighthouse Avenue, Staten Island
(718)  987-3500 
 Art, ethnographic objects and photos related to Tibetan and other Asian cultures can be found in this museum designed like a Tibetan mountain temple.

Museum of the American Piano
211 West 58^th St. 
(212) 246-4646 
 Showcases the evolution of the piano. Learn how many composers created works using very simple instruments that are now played on booming modem pianos.

Japan Society
333 East 47^th St. 
(212) 832-1155
Present exhibitions devoted to the finest traditional and contemporary arts of Japan.

National Museum of Lesbian and Gay History 208 West 13^th St. 
(212) 620-7310
Created in 1988 for the Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center, the walls of this museum in the Labyrinthine Building are decorated with works by artists such as Keith Hating.

Newseum/NY
580 Madison Avenue between 56^th and 57^th St.
(212) 317-7596
 A media, educational and cultural institution that features exhibits, lectures and films dedicated to public understanding of journalism and First Amendment issues.

The Police Academy Museum
235 East 20^th St. between Second and Third Avenues
(212) 477-9753
 Displays gizmos used throughout New York City's history by both good guys and bad, including firearms, badges and counterfeit money.

The Hispanic Society of America, 
613 West 155^th St. on Broadway
(212) 926-2234
Owns and shows major works from Spain, Portugal and colonial Latin America, including paintings by Goya, El Greco and Velazquez.

Provided by www.nycvisit.com, the official web site of the New York Convention & Visitors Bureau