Frazier History Museum



The Frazier History Museum (Frazier Museum for short), formerly the Frazier Historical Arms Museum and more recently the Frazier International History Museum, is a museum in Louisville, Kentucky's "Museum Row" in the West Main District of downtown. It is named for the museum's founder Owsley Brown Frazier. The Frazier Museum has the distinction of being the only place in the world outside Great Britain to permanently house and display Royal Armouries artifacts. The museum is an affiliate in the Smithsonian Affiliations program.

The facilities include 75000 sqft of exhibition space over three floors, as well as two areas for interpretations, a 120-seat auditorium, a 48-seat movie theater, and various displays (including multimedia, interactive and audio-visual). The Frazier Museum Store is on the first floor in the front of the museum, and contains a small vending/eating area.

There are also traveling exhibitions on display that are on loan from various sources. In addition, the museum has a fifth-floor rooftop garden that can be rented for activities. A number of costumed interpreters are employed, who perform daily historical interpretations as well as live demonstrations on the use of arms and armor. Educational, cultural and entertainment activities are hosted at the museum throughout the day and evening.

Collections


The museum focuses on U.S. and UK arms, armor and other historical objects from the last 1,000 years. Among the exhibits are firearms, shields, swords, suits of armor and medieval weapons. Items in the collection include a rifle reputedly once owned by George Washington, Teddy Roosevelt's "Big Stick" hunting rifle, and items once owned by "Buffalo Bill" Cody and the outlaw Jesse James. The museum also features traveling exhibits.

The Frazier is also home to The Royal Armouries USA—a component of Britain's Royal Armouries. The Frazier is the only national museum outside Great Britain to house a collection representing the history of British arms and armor from the 11th to the 20th centuries. The Royal Armouries galleries span the entire third floor of The Frazier and provide an in-depth look at British and European history, as well as capturing the art of early arms making.

In 2010 the Civil War's oldest remaining monument, the 32nd Indiana Monument, was placed in the lobby for free viewing.