Birmingham Museum

The Birmingham Museum is the ideal place to get an overview of Birmingham's story, from its beginnings up to the present. The site consists of two historic houses on nearly four acres of grounds adjacent to the Rouge River trail at the outskirts of downtown Birmingham. The 1822 Greek Revival John West Hunter House is one of the oldest intact dwellings in the Lower Peninsula, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The 1926 Colonial Revival Marion and Harry Allen House was designed by architect Rupert Koch and built for the first mayor of Birmingham on one of the most beautiful sites in the city. The quiet grounds are a public park, featuring a natural pond and access to the Rouge trail. The museum has been municipally operated since 2001 in partnership with the Friends of the Birmingham Museum (a.k.a., Birmingham Historical Society), and features changing exhibits in the Allen House, while the Hunter House is furnished with period antiques and interpreted from the pioneer period to the late 19th century. Our mission is to tell Birmingham's story, emphasizing the fascinating individuals who have shaped the town, but also its more recent history; we house the most important public collection of the rock publication, CREEM Magazine, published in the 1970s and 1980s in Birmingham. Visitors of all ages can enjoy and experience our history through our collection, our historic buildings, and our beautiful grounds.