Art and Museums
Golden State Model Train Museum
With dozens of murals, sculptures, and an ever growing collection of commemorative works on our waterfront, Richmond is rich in public art. Armed with a list of locations (just ask us), a drive around town can become a journey of discovery.
Richmond is home to an extraordinary home for the arts, the Richmond Art Center. For nearly 70 years, the Richmond Art Center, a private non-profit organization, has achieved regional and national recognition for its successful combination of visual art exhibitions, classes in the visual arts, and community programs.
Located in the City's civic center area (25th and Barrett), the art center's 25,000 square foot facility presents over 15 exhibitions each year featuring emerging and mid-career Bay Area artists and community projects.
Admission to the Richmond Art Center is free with a suggested donation of $3. Come visit today, and see why the Richmond Art Center is considered the best all-around art center in the entire San Francisco Bay Area. Visit them on-line at www.therichmondartcenter.org.
Richmond is also home to the National Institute of Art & Disability (NIAD), a nationally recognized art center with a gallery, art shop and exhibitions.
Richmond is home to many artists, who sometimes open their studios to the public. For example, you can view the work of the nationally-recognized painter Jim DeWitt at the Point Richmond Art Collective.
The Golden State Model Railroad Museum in Miller-Knox Regional Shoreside Park will delight train fans both young and not so young. You'll be awed by its 10,000 square feet in layouts, featuring models of glamorous trains of the past and present, a replica of the Tehachapi loop, Donner Pass and a placer mining operation. The Museum is handicapped accessible. Check our Calendar page for times, special exhibits and entry costs.
The Richmond Museum of History reveals the dramatic course of our region's history through artifacts spanning centuries — from an Ohlone reed canoe to a Model T Ford (that rolled off Ford's Richmond assembly line in 1931). Call the Museum at (510) 235-7387 for hours.
Right next door to Richmond is El Cerrito, home to Playland Not at the Beach. Playland-Not-At-The-Beach is an ideal location for your next birthday party, family reunion, or company event. Named after San Francisco’s bygone amusement park, Playland is chock-full or wonderful things to see and do. Introduce your family, friends, neighbors and co-workers to one of the most unique, totally fun places in Northern California. Private parties last 3 hours and include over 30 Pinball Machines set of FREE play, FREE carnival games, a live magic show and much more! Pay one price and Play all day: Children under age 14 and Seniors $10, Adults $15. Playland is a Museum of Old-Fashioned Fun chock-full with over 30 pinball machines set on FREE play, penny arcade games and a carousel carnival (where you can win prizes!), miniature circus, magic shows, and interactive displays honoring America’s Bygone Amusements.