Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, Design museum in Upper East Side, Manhattan, United States
Description
Cooper Hewitt is a design museum in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, housed in a former early twentieth-century mansion. The collection includes more than 215,000 objects spanning thirty centuries, among them textiles, furniture, wall coverings, and digital works.
History
Eleanor Garnier Hewitt and Sarah Cooper Hewitt founded the museum in 1896 as part of Cooper Union to create an educational collection for artists and craftspeople. The Smithsonian Institution took over the museum in 1967 and moved it into the building on 91st Street.
Culture
The name honors founders Eleanor and Sarah Hewitt, who conceived the institution as an educational resource for craftspeople and designers. Visitors today can see how the museum presents everyday objects from different eras, focusing on their form and function.
Practical
The museum sits on East 91st Street near Fifth Avenue and can be reached by subway or on foot from Central Park. Interactive tools in the galleries allow visitors to collect and save information about exhibited objects during their walk through the rooms.
Did you know?
Industrialist Andrew Carnegie commissioned the building in 1902 as a private residence, and many of its original rooms and details remain visible today. The structure combines these historical elements with modern exhibition spaces for contemporary design objects.
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide. Discover all places nearby (Manhattan).
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
198 m
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir
208 m
Andrew Carnegie Mansion
39 m
Jewish Museum
104 m
Otto H. Kahn House
22 m
Felix M. Warburg House
97 m
Willard D. Straight House
251 m
1067 Fifth Avenue
274 m
Mrs. Graham Fair Vanderbilt House
234 m
William Goadby Loew House
209 m
Carnegie Hill Tower
280 m
1261 Madison Avenue
181 m
1130 Park Avenue
274 m
1112 Park Avenue
294 m
1110 Park Avenue
303 m
1120 Park Avenue
273 m
James A. Burden House
73 m
John Henry Hammond House
92 m
1107 Fifth Avenue
59 m
1172 Park Avenue
306 m
1060 Fifth Avenue
302 m
21 East 90th Street
141 m
1120 Fifth Avenue
189 m
14 East 90th Street
153 m
1160 Park Avenue
289 m
1150 Park Avenue
280 m
51 East 90th Street
204 m
Carnegie Hill Historic District
164 mDiscover hidden gems everywhere you go!
From secret cafés to breathtaking viewpoints, skip the crowded tourist spots and find places that match your style. Our app makes it easy with voice search, smart filtering, route optimization, and insider tips from travelers worldwide. Download now for the complete mobile experience.
A unique approach to discovering new places❞
— Le Figaro
All the places worth exploring❞
— France Info
A tailor-made excursion in just a few clicks❞
— 20 Minutes