Cities with museums, art galleries, theater, bookstores, historical sites, parks? (chapel, gardens)

[yoyo23]

What cities are best for these kinds of amenities? Also, to a lesser extent, music scene.

[rnc2mbfl]

Isn't this covered my most moderately sized cities in the USA?

[Corey the Otter]

DC (don't know if you want big or small. Big but not as big as New York).

[cpomp]

Most larger (and mid-size) cities have at least some presence of these things.

But museums, theaters and historic sites thin out the list a bit.

The cities where you will have no shortage of any items on your list...

New York
Los Angeles
Chicago
San Francisco
Philadelphia
Boston
D.C.

Other large cities have some of these offerings to a lesser extent: Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Miami / Ft. Lauderdale, but BASED ON YOUR LIST, they are tiers lower than the first group.

There are also mid-size cities that punch above their weight and actually match (or surpass) the second group of large cities in these offerings.

Pittsburgh
Cleveland
Cincinnati
New Orleans

To name a few. I am drawing a blank on others right now.

[masssachoicetts]

New York
Boston
Philadelphia
Washington DC
Chicago
Charleston SC
New Orleans
Savannah GA
San Francisco
St. Louis
Providence
Richmond
Los Angeles
Pittsburgh

[BigCityDreamer]

I recommend DC when the pandemic is over.

Right now, most of that is closed.

[manitopiaaa]

Washington, D.C. by far

Museums - just listing the known ones:

1. American Art Museum (my favorite)
2. Anacostia Community Museum
3. Art Museum of the Americas
4. Arts and Industries Building
5. Folger Shakespeare Library
6. Freer Gallery of Art
7. Harvard Dumbarton Oaks
8. Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens
9. Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
10. International Spy Museum
11. Kreeger Museum
12. Library of Congress
13. Museum of the Bible
14. National Air and Space Museum
15. National Archives
16. National Bonsai and Penjing Museum (at National Arboretum)
17. National Building Museum
18. National Gallery of Art
19. National Gallery of Art - Modern Art Building
20. National Geographic Museum
21. National Museum of African American History and Culture
22. National Museum of African Art
23. National Museum of American History
24. National Museum of the American Indian
25. National Museum of Natural History
26. National Museum of the United States Army
27. National Museum of Women in the Arts
28. National Portrait Gallery
29. National Postal Museum
30. National Zoological Park
31. Phillips Collection (of Amelie fame)
32. Renwick Gallery
33. Sackler Gallery
34. Scottish Rite Temple and Supreme Council Library
35. Smithsonian Castle
36. Udvar-Hazy Center (best aviation museum in the world)
37. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Congress also just commissioned the establishment of the upcoming museums: the National Museum of the American Latino and the Women’s History Museum

Art Galleries -
Not as common, but they exist in Barracks Row, Dupont Circle, Georgetown, Logan Circle, etc.

Theater and Music -

1. 9:30 Club
2. The Anthem
3. Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater
4. Atlas Performing Arts Theatre
5. Black Cat
6. The Birchmere
7. Blind Whino Arts Club
8. Blues Alley
9. Ford's Theatre
10. Howard Theatre
11. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
12. Lincoln Theatre
13. National Theatre
14. Pearl Street Warehouse
15. Tivoli Theatre
16. U Street Music Hall
17. Union Stage
18. Warner Theatre
19. Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts
20. Woolly Mammoth Theatre

Bookstores - tons, as a very educated city. The most famous are Capitol Hill Books, Politics and Prose and Kramerbooks. I like old books, so am more into the antique bookstores. My favorite place in the whole region though is the Book Thing in Baltimore: hundreds of books for free everytime I visit!

Historical Sites - Of course.

National Register of Historic Places:

1. Alexandria: 49
2. Arlington and Falls Church: 75
3. Calvert: 20
4. Charles: 39
5. Clarke: 41
6. Culpeper: 29
7. Fairfax City and County: 73
8. Fauquier: 66
9. Frederick: 101
10. Fredericksburg: 28
11. Jefferson: 78
12. Loudoun: 93
13. Madison: 21
14. Montgomery: 79
15. Prince George's: 106
16. Prince William and the Manassas Duo: 52
17. Rappahannock: 19
18. Spotsylvania: 17
19. Stafford: 21
20. Warren: 23
21. Washington: 639

TOTAL (MSA): 1,669

CSA:
Anne Arundel: 103
Baltimore City: 299
Baltimore County: 89
Berkeley: 119
Carroll: 62
Franklin: 63
Hampshire: 27
Harford: 79
Howard: 42
Morgan: 14
Queen Anne's: 38
Saint Mary's: 32
Talbot: 62
Washington (Hagerstown): 103
Winchester and Frederick County: 50

TOTAL (CSA): 2,851

For perspective, the entire State of California has 2,866 and Texas has 3,365. Very impressive for a CSA of 9.7 million to be competing with the two largest states on historic assets.

Parks - Yes, and the MSA is brimming with nature

• Caledon State Park
• Calvert Cliffs State Park
• Cedarville State Forest
• Chapel Point State Park
• Chapman State Park
• Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
• Constitution Gardens
• Cunningham Falls State Park
• Gambrill State Park
• Great Falls Park
• Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
• Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum
• Lake Anna State Park
• Leesylvania State Park
• Mason Neck State Park
• Merkle Natural Resources Management Area
• Monocacy River Natural Resource Management Area
• National Mall
• Patuxent River State Park
• Prince William Forest Park
• Rock Creek Park
• Rosaryville State Park
• Seneca Creek State Park
• Shenandoah National Park (25% in the MSA)
• Sky Meadows State Park
• Smallwood State Park
• South Mountain Battlefield
• South Mountain State Park
• Sugarloaf Mountain
• United States Botanic Garden
• Washington Monument State Park
• Widewater State Park

[Vatnos]

Originally Posted by rnc2mbfl

Isn't this covered my most moderately sized cities in the USA?

Yes it is. I'm struggling to think of a major city that doesn't have all of those things.

[LordHomunculus]

I agree with others that most mid to large cities have a fair amount of this. But off the top of my head, the big ones are DC, NYC and Boston. NYC is #1.

[saybanana]

Bookstores seem rare these days. Everything is ebooks it seems.