Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

  Sam and Helen Walton, founders of Walmart Inc., established the Walton Family Foundation in 1988 as a charitable trust. Since their deaths the Foundation has been run by their children, grandchildren, and other family members who fund projects that are of special interest to them. Crystal Bridges was spearheaded by Alice Walton, the only daughter of Sam and Helen, who developed an interest in art at an early age and wanted to create a museum for the benefit of the public.

   We were anticipating spending several days exploring the museum and the grounds so we were surprised to find that we could see everything in less than four hours. Almost all of the artists are from the US so although many famous artists are represented the range of artwork is limited. The building itself is fantastic and the grounds are beautiful.  A house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright has been relocated to the property. Like the rest of the museum, it is free to tour but tickets must be reserved in advance. We did not know this so we missed seeing the interior.

    The museum is accessible. It’s located in a ravine so even though 4 miles of the trails are paved visitors using wheelchairs may need assistance due to steep hills.  A map with color coded trails is provided to visitors but we were confused more than once and we could not find a way to get from the north to the south trails without going through the museum building.

  Parking for RV is not available on the museum grounds. Orchard Park, which is about 1/2 mile away, has a large lot and a paved trail to the museum. It’s also close the overflow parking lot and a shuttle  to the museum. I don’t know if the shuttle is wheelchair accessible.  Museum  36.38148, -94.20273