Fullerton Museum Center

Fullerton Museum Center has something for everyone, whether you like contemporary art, photography, Japanese works, Pre-columbian sculptures, artifacts from the Middle East or the whole gamut of American Art in architecture that reflect different building campaigns. Come for an evening of film or live musical performance. There is a lively bar and well-reviewed restaurant on the premises in a covered outdoor area. A cafeteria style eatery offers more options and Coffee + Milk delivers exactly that. I can easily spend the whole day here.

They fixed the phone issue and got better about responding to emails. Sean/Shawn was incredibly helpful getting us setup for the event in under an hour and accommodating our groups needs. Our guests had nothing but positive feedback for the memorial service. Couldn't have done it without the staff here. Thank you for helping make my Dads send off a great one.

We have been supporting all of the fabulous things that the Fullerton museum center does for years and years! From hosting our Thursday Wilshire market, through the spring farmers market to holding weekly museum events to hosting specialty events throughout the year and over the holidays, they never cease to be there for their community. Thank you for a wonderful Christmas spectacular tonight with a hot chocolate garden, a beer Garden and live music by the Dardens!

Small and classic building

The times I've been here it's historic themed exhibits and there were all interesting.

It's unclear on the future of Art Walk but previously one could visit for free on the right days

I have always walked by this little museum but never managed to step inside.

So on July 31st, I decided to peek around.

FYI the staff informed me that the rates have increased to $10 per person - which is understandable due to the pandemic. Plus, its good to support the local arts.

I paid the entrance fee and engaged in small banter with the docents. Then, I walked through the large art-deco doors to begin the exhibit. I spent about 45 mins reviewing the current exhibit and its permanent display of the Fender guitars.

I learned a lot about Leo Fender, the craftmanship of his guitars, and the management of his corporation. I was also too busy in awe of the Fullerton Museum Center and its architecture.

I would return, once the new exhibits resume... also, to scope out the place and take more pics! This little gem definitely has a lot of photo opportunities for my fellow photo enthusiasts!

Well, ta-ta for now.

Fullerton Museum Center is easy to find, in the heart of the downtown. It could be a nice activity while you are in the area, a great way to spend a hour or so.

The museum is very small, the building it's charming, has character. I was mainly interested in their Leo Fender collection, I wanted to learn more about the creator of the electric guitar, born in Fullerton, the place where he lived all his life. The exhibit is wonderful, if you love music, enjoy going to concerts (who doesn't), are a rock fan, this is a great way for you to dig deeper and find out some interesting facts about how this invention changed the music world. They do instruments on view, great information, photos. It's a great tribute to Leo Fender. This is on permanent view.

They also have temporary exhibit, I got to see "Electricity" (on view till April 22). No, I'm no science geek, I wasn't that good in school studying physics and chemistry. Not my forte or cup of tea. But still, this exhibit is decent, fun, interactive. I'm sure kids would enjoy it more than I did.

Decent customer service, great gift shop full of cool merchandise, great for souvenirs or gifts.
The Museum is closed on Mondays, Tuesday& Wednesdays: Noon - 4 pm, Thursdays: Noon - 8 pm
Friday- Sundays: Noon - 4 pm

It's $5 admission, $4 for seniors and $3 Children (Ages 6-12).
Free - 6 pm-10 pm first Friday of the month.

Small museum, but it could be a nice visit, worth checking it out.

I loved this museum! Stumbled upon it while planning a day to explore Fullerton. I read somewhere online that admission was $20 per person, so I was pleasantly surprised by that it was actually $5! $4 if you have a student ID.

They have the electricity exhibit right now, which was so fun with all the interact-able displays. A few of them were broken though, which was disappointing, but overall it was a great experience.

We also really enjoyed the Fender exhibit, but would recommend for the curator to consider rearranging some of the items. The placement of the texts about Fender's life didn't really flow.. you had to go from one side of the room to the other to follow the timeline of the text.. didn't really make sense and kind of ruined the story a bit because we went from early in his career to his death, haha.

We have been enjoying the farmers market/adorable gift shop/beer garden for the past couple of years, but what compelled me to write a review is this:
Last night while waiting to meet friends, I decided to have a look inside the shop to see what was new. I was about to leave when a display of rad earrings caught my eye. After debating between several pairs for a few minutes, I left really stoked on my selection. Long story short, I forgot my treasure on one of their cocktail tables outside:(. I returned today and the lovely individual who sold them to me last night, was again present and helped me sort it out. I didn't get the name, but pixie cut, big smile employee at museum center rocks and cemented my loyalty to this great Fullerton institution.
I know Yelp likes more specific details, so just to ensure this actually gets posted, the first time I set foot in this shop to "browse" last year right before Christmas, I walked out $140 lighter. Super cute, kitschy, well-crafted and curated items. Everyone is always friendly, but todays assistance made my week. Thank you again!!!

Fullerton Museum of Art was the former city library which had outgrown its usefulness. The architecture reminds me of a WPA building built sometime in the 1930's with touches of Art Deco, Latinate motifs, topped with red Spanish tile.

There are two large rooms for showing of traveling art exhibits & the other smaller rooms are dedicated to Leo Fender, inventor, innovator of the electric guitar not to mention other electrical, music innovations. He was a local son of Fullerton & so is honored in being the permanent exhibit.

Alfonse Mucha: The Spirit of Art Nouveau

Alfonse Mucha, a Bosnia Herzegovinian, was a much admired Art Nouveau artist in his day at the fin de dix-neuvième siècle/turn of the 19th century based in Paris France. He made many posters of and for Sarah Bernhard not to mention many other works fo Art Nouveau.

Art Nouveau & the Crafts Movement were both reaction to the Industrial Age which mass produced characterless, products of impersonal distinction. Art Nouveau was more organic with a personal touch & aesthetics that harked to a more genteel, halcyon era. It was a short era that lasted from around the 1880's to WWI, but it affected most areas of Western culture.

We went to the opening of this pleasant, eye pleasing exhibit for a donation of $10. Later we were surprised that it also included a "free" crêpe from Crêpes de Paris that was the catering company for that event. Nice staff that was well organized, courteous, and friendly.

We had a choice of Chicken & Spinach in a crème-cheese sauce; Saint Louis w/ bacon, mushrooms, tomato, mozzarella cheese; Veggie w/ feta cheese, red bell pepper, tomato, mushrooms. Also water or soft drink was supplied. We also ordered a Kölsch beer for $5.

A fun band, Pint Sized Cocktail Orchestra, played many unknown songs that were probably popular in the teens & 1920's.

This special event brought out a large crowd of mostly Fullertonians. Very inexpensive way to spend about 3 hours hobnobbing with a nice representative cross section of the local population. Look on their website for the next exhibit opening & attend a pleasant event w/ a hometown Orange County feel. 4 Yelp stars.

It was a nice exhibit, however the longest time you could spend here is maybe thirty minutes. It's a bit smaller than I thought it would be. At the moment they have a number of old movie posters and flyers they would use to promote the movies. They also have a great exhibit dedicated to Leo Fender with his record collection and a number of different types of Fender instruments as well. It would be nice to see them extend to the up stairs or maybe add more rooms to make it feel like your money was well spent. I feel it is a bit over priced for what is available to see on hand. Please check it out for your self and see what you think. I'm sure many people have their own thoughts on these kind of things. It was nice to experience once.