Its motto is Any day above ground is a good one, and the museum lives up to it. Since 1992 it has filled 30,500 square feet off I-45 north with 15 permanent exhibits. Presidential Funerals holds the bill for George Washington's funeral, the original eternal flame from John F. Kennedy's grave at Arlington, and the hearse that carried Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford in California. The papal gallery covers 5,000 square feet and includes a full-scale replica of Saint John Paul II's original crypt. A Life Well Lived shows 12 fantasy coffins from Ghana, each carved to capture its owner's trade or dream. Historical Hearses runs from horse-drawn carriages to the car used at Grace Kelly's funeral. There is a Day of the Dead gallery, a 9/11 tribute and, since 2023, a certified replica of the Shroud of Turin. It sounds morbid. It plays like a history museum with a sense of humor.
What to expect
- Free parking is right on site.
- It is self-guided; see the exhibits in any order, at your own pace.
- The museum recommends it for children over 7.
- Fully accessible for visitors with disabilities.
What to do
- Find the hearse that carried Presidents Reagan and Ford in the Historical Hearses collection
- Walk the 5,000-square-foot Celebrating the Lives and Deaths of the Popes exhibit
- See the 12 carved fantasy coffins in A Life Well Lived: Fantasy Coffins from Ghana
- 1992Open since
- 30,500 sq ftExhibit space
- 15Permanent exhibits
- 12Ghana coffins