Images from the May 3, 1980 grand opening of Museum London's new building.
For 80 years, Museum London has collected and exhibited artworks dating from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day. Established in 1940 as the Elsie Perrin Williams Memorial Art Gallery and Museum, it was located on the second floor of the London Public Library until 1980. That year, our current building, designed by renowned Canadian architect Raymond Moriyama, opened at the Forks of the Thames / Deshkan Ziibi .
The City of London’s history collections were brought together under this roof in 1989. History-minded Londoners began to collect artifacts after they established the London and Middlesex Historical Society in 1901. Members used the artifacts to teach history until they donated them to the newly-opened Victoria House Museum in 1958. Although that museum closed in 1965, the Centennial Museum replaced it in 1969, serving Londoners until 1986. And then, in 1989, the historical artifact collection amalgamated with the London Regional Art Gallery to form the London Regional Art Gallery and Historical Museums. The rest is history!
Museum London produces a variety of exhibitions annually, along with classes, lectures, films, and much more. Our 5,500-piece art collection emphasizes the innovations of London’s respected artists and our 45,000 objects of material culture tells the story of our region's past.