The Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum image

The Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum

Tourist attraction Local history museum

Historical society devoted to Boca Raton's past offering museum exhibits, lectures, tours & events. People often mention Boca, Raton, history, museum, area, staff, town, information, Mizner, small,


Address

Historic Town Hall, 71 N Federal Hwy, Boca Raton, FL 33432

Website

www.bocahistory.org

Contact

(561) 395-6766

Rating on Google Maps

4.70 (54 reviews)

Open on Google Maps

Working Hours

  • Sunday: Closed
  • Monday: Closed
  • Tuesday: Closed
  • Wednesday: 10 AM to 4 PM
  • Thursday: 10 AM to 4 PM
  • Friday: 10 AM to 4 PM
  • Saturday: 10 AM to 4 PM

Featured Reviews


Frequently mentioned in reviews: Boca (32) Raton (25) history (22) museum (19) area (9) staff (7) town (7) information (6) Mizner (6) small (6)
Reviews are sorted by relevance, prioritizing the most helpful and insightful feedback at the top for easier reference.
  • 5/5 Luis A. 7 years ago on Google
    I went there to do some research and the front desk person and the Curator were very helpful and polite. It is a hidden gem in Boca Raton! A place to visit and learn about Boca Raton and Florida history.
    3 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Lee W. 4 years ago on Google • 249 reviews
    Charming part of Boca's past with lovely art and artifacts from the past. They also have a library and a gift shop.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Van L. 6 months ago on Google • 147 reviews
    The Schmidt boca raton history museum number 1 parking is perfect right in front with beautiful trees surrounded it the architech of the building was exquisite! Went in the nice lady I think her name was Laurie she was very informative friendly I learned a plethora of information plus this is great for a little day date because you can just leave your car parked walk right across the street have some lunch and sight see 👀there was a lot of history on Mr Mizner and on Pearl city and IBM super cute! 🤗
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 T M. 10 months ago on Google • 206 reviews
    What a wonderful museum! We stumbled upon it while checking out small historical spots in the area. We spent about an hour and a half but could have spent more time easily. Anthony gave us a fantastic tour and was very personable. It was a lovely and conversational tour! We learned a lot and were surprised by the rich history of Boca Raton! It really gave us a lot of information that helped some of our other sight seeing endeavors to make sense and have context.

  • 5/5 Discover The Palm Beaches B. 4 years ago on Google
    Great place to learn about the history of Boca Raton
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Jon S. 4 years ago on Google
    The history of Boca Raton is all here. Housed in a gorgeous, Addison Mizner created building. The staff is wonderful. I am definitely going back. Nice little gift shop too.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Olivia H. 3 years ago on Google
    The Boca Raton Historical Society is a true gem in the heart of downtown Boca Raton. It's an important local nonprofit organization that we are lucky to have. Building a sense of community through history.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Nefertiti T. 8 months ago on Google • 66 reviews
    The workers are very nice and very knowledgeable about the history of Boca Raton. The attention to detail is very good. I would say this is not great for 5-7 year olds, but there are exhibits to touch and a cute mascot and scavenger hunt . Good place to go with older kids or adults and then catch lunch at Mizner.

  • 5/5 pjm p. 11 months ago on Google • 46 reviews
    Anthony gave us a very explanatory tour. We especially liked the IBM room, as my husband previously worked there and was able to make a connection. Each room is very nicely designed to tell about Boca Raton history. Highly recommended for visitors.

  • 5/5 Joseph S. 1 year ago on Google • 22 reviews
    It is a nice museum and very interesting to me:I grew up here and studied modern History.I have been to Tampa's Plant,Palm Beach's Flagler and now Mizner Boca Raton

  • 5/5 A C. 1 year ago on Google • 22 reviews
    Great local history museum of Boca Raton. Go and learn about the history of this great town.

  • 5/5 M 2 months ago on Google • 22 reviews New
    Excellent small and focused museum on Federal in Boca. Free parking. Learn about Boca Raton history, Florida during WWII, RADAR training, and IBM affiliation with Boca. Well worthwhile to visit 👍.

  • 4/5 Evelyn C. 11 months ago on Google • 18 reviews
    Very nice small museum with tiny giftshop. Friendly staff. Wear a sweater. The temp inside is so cold you can almost see your breath. Enjoyed the displays. Would've appreciated more exhibits and info about the history of non-whites in the area throughout the growth of Boca Raton. My husband and I visited the museum on the first Saturday of the month when admission is free.

  • 5/5 Anna M. 2 years ago on Google
    Most informative! Perfect size museum. Loved it!

  • 5/5 C2A S. 1 year ago on Google
    Renovated beautifully, this relic has a lot of stories to tell about Boca.

  • 5/5 c. o. 1 year ago on Google
    Even though is small museum, it has a lot of information about Boca Raton and Florida. Anthony was great with all the history he gave us.

  • 5/5 Ariel W. 5 years ago on Google
    The Boca Raton Historical Society was created to preserve the artifacts relating to the history of Boca Raton. In Spanish Boca Raton literally means rat's mouth but Boca also means inlet so a nicer meaning of the name would be inlet mouse. This was a navigational reference to a jagged inlet. The first inhabitants of the area were the Tequesta Indians. Henry Flagler made the area accessible to pioneers when he brought the East Coast Railway into the area. In the 1900's Japanese immigrants farmed pineapples in the area. The town was incorporated in 1925 at the height of the Florida land boom. Noted architect Adisson Mizner turned his attention from Palm Beach when he was hired by the town to design a world class community. Through the years Boca Raton was a farming community as people grew vegetables, especially green beans. . Through the 1960'[s the population grew attracting a new state university Florida Atlantic University. Today over 80,000 people call Boca Raton home. The Historical Society operates two buildings. The first is the old town hall built in 1926 that used to contain Boca's police station, fire department, and library. It was designed by Addison Mizner. Today the building contains a welcome center and history museum. The Historical Society also operate the F.E.C. Railway building which is a restored 1930's train depot. In addition to operating the buildings for tours the Historical Society also conducts a wide array of programs like lecture, special events, and walking tours. I am very interested in the 1.5 hour walking tour of the Historic Boca Raton Resort and Club held on the 2nd & 4th Tuesdays at 2 PM, January through May, 2019. The cost is $15. Like a lot of historical places they hold events during the week but I am going to try and see if I can line it up for when I have off from school. When I visited the historic town hall there were a group of three homeless people occupying the front porch, one of which was passed out. There were even more homeless people around the sidewalk and across the street at the park. This is something I had never seen in Boca before. It is sad to see that some people are not enjoying the affluent life style of Boca. We will see how the town writes the next chapter in it's history.

  • 5/5 Alfred 5 years ago on Google
    This museum is very interesting as well as a treasure trove of historical archive, information. The staff is knowledgeable, helpful, informative, passionate, committed. Do yourself a favor and stop here first. A must do when visiting Boca Raton.

  • 5/5 Tiffany F. 5 years ago on Google
    We visited as part of our anniversary celebration on 6/21. Our first attempt to visit was about 3 years ago on our second date but it was a weekend and we ended up at the Boca Art museum. We've always wanted to return but the hours makes it difficult for a M-F 8-5pm schedule. I had to request off from work to make this happen. It is a somewhat small museum that is heavily focused on Addison Mizner's influence on the area. As a Boca native, I learned a bunch of interesting stuff about locations that I have driven by my whole life. There are a couple rooms with artifacts and a 45 minute video. The staff member at the desk is an absolute dear. He explained the collection to us, and engaged us in talk. He offered to reset the tape for us if we wanted to watch from the beginning. It was well worth the $5 entrance fee. The only negative is that the museum is also office space for staff members which seemed a bit weird. One of the rooms in the back had two staff members working at desks while one room near the gift shop had at least one person working (I thought it was another exhibit room and quickly backed out when realizing.) We weren't made to feel unwelcome at all and we greeted quite cheerfully... for me I just felt weird to be hovering in their work space.

  • 4/5 Fabian R. 5 years ago on Google
    Interesting historical building. Very kind receptionist/guide provided lots of information

  • 5/5 James H. 2 years ago on Google
    Great museum that tracks the history of Boce Raton. Nice exhibits that detail the development of this area. Great guide as well. Very knowledgeable and helpful. A fee to enter, but definitely worth it. Enjoy!

  • 5/5 Elyn B. 5 years ago on Google
    As a volunteer I highly recommend anyone visiting or even residents should attend some of their classes. Wonderful lectures informative history of our little town.

  • 5/5 Luba B. 5 years ago on Google
    This has been on my "Want to go" list for quite awhile. I finally got to visit. There is a movie to watch as you start the tour and then they have a guide highlighting the main historical artifacts. There is a cozy gift shop along with a few displays of other local attractions.

  • 5/5 Dave C. 4 years ago on Google
    Small museum but lots of interesting information. Volunteer guide was very informative.

  • 5/5 Bill B. 4 years ago on Google
    Very knowledgeable and helpful staff. We enjoyed learning about the history of the area.

  • 5/5 Emma L. 4 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) A small but large museum in history of the foundation of the city, its first settlers and the development until today, very attentive personal guide. (Original) Un museo pequeño pero grande en historia de la fundación de la ciudad, sus primeros pobladores y el desarrollo hasta hoy, personal guía muy atento.

  • 5/5 George B. 5 years ago on Google
    A must visit location in Boca Raton

  • 4/5 Richard R. 5 years ago on Google
    Here's the place to get low down on Boca Raton. Secrets in the walls.

  • 5/5 Joyce L. 6 years ago on Google
    Interesting speakers excellent library and gift shop

  • 5/5 Karin N. 5 years ago on Google
    Wonderful place to learn about Boca Raton history.

  • 5/5 Ryan S. 6 years ago on Google
    This museum is phenomenal. It always has very interesting artifacts all the time.

  • 5/5 Isabella J. 3 months ago on Google • 2 reviews New
    This museum is amazingly fantastic. Staffs there are so knowledgeable and kind. Doing some field trip here would be so fun for youngsters. Also the parking is great, a lot of spaces.


Call (561) 395-6766 Open on Google Maps

Amenities


  • Accessibility
    • ✓️ Wheelchair accessible entrance
    • ✓️ Wheelchair accessible restroom
    • ✓️ Wheelchair accessible parking lot

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