Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, Jacksonville, Guide du visiteur et quoi faire à proximité

The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens is an art museum with historic gardens on the banks of the St. Johns River, in the Riverside neighborhood of Jacksonville, Florida. It opened in 1961 on the site of the Cummer family's riverside estate. Visitors come for the art collections and for gardens that mix Italian, English and Olmsted styles under old live oaks.

The story behind it

The museum exists because of Ninah Cummer. When she died in 1958 she left her estate to create an art museum for the city, and the Cummer Gallery opened to the public in 1961. The family's houses did not last, but one room from her home, the Tudor Room, was preserved and is now displayed inside the museum.

The gardens outlived the mansions. They include an Olmsted garden and an Italian garden designed by Ellen Biddle Shipman in 1931. A huge live oak, known as the Cummer Oak, spreads over the grounds. In September 2017 Hurricane Irma pushed the St. Johns River over its banks and flooded the gardens. They were rebuilt and reopened in 2019, and the old oaks came through it.

What to look for

• The Tudor Room inside the museum is the one surviving room from Ninah Cummer's house, so it is a small piece of the original estate.
• The Italian garden, designed by Ellen Biddle Shipman in 1931, is a formal, carefully planned space that contrasts with the looser Olmsted-style garden.
• The Cummer Oak is a very large live oak, and its limbs and the Spanish moss draped from the trees make a good photo.
• The gardens run down to the St. Johns River, so look for the views across the water from the edge of the grounds.

Tips for your visit

• Allow about two hours if you want to see both the galleries and the gardens without rushing. Check current opening hours and admission before you go.
• Go in the morning or late afternoon if you can, when the light is softer in the gardens and it is cooler for walking outdoors in Florida.
• The museum is on Riverside Avenue, so you can easily combine it with a walk through the Riverside neighborhood and its riverfront green space.
• Wear comfortable shoes. The gardens are best enjoyed slowly on foot, and the paths are part of the visit.

See it on a quest

Playing Murder Mystery: Death in the Shadows in Riverside, Jacksonville is a good way to see the museum as part of the wider neighborhood. You reach it on foot as one stop on a longer route through Riverside, the app tells you about each place when you arrive, and you solve a puzzle on the spot. One ticket covers the whole group.

Ghost Hunt in Jacksonville suits you if you like your history with a spooky edge. You walk to the museum as one stop on a route through the city, hear about the place from the app, and solve a puzzle in front of you. One ticket covers the whole group.

Operation Meissen in Jacksonville: A Ken Clever Mystery is a mystery-themed walk that passes the museum. You get to it on foot as part of a longer route, the app gives you the background on each stop, and you solve a puzzle on the spot. One ticket covers the whole group.