Valdez Museum & Historical Archive
Valdez Museum & Historical Archive
4.5
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
The Valdez Museum preserves and presents the heritage and culture of Valdez, the Copper River Basin, and Prince William Sound.
Duration: 1-2 hours
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listing
Full view
Top ways to experience nearby attractions
The area
Address
Reach out directly
Best nearby
Restaurants
22 within 3 miles
Attractions
9 within 6 miles
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.5
202 reviews
Excellent
120
Very good
71
Average
11
Poor
0
Terrible
0
Robert D
Brooklyn, New York4,257 contributions
Jul 2023 • Solo
The Valdez Museum has two buildings. The exhibits in the main building tell the history of the town. They also had exhibits on more modern events such as the 1964 Earthquake and the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster. The other building houses a model of Old Valdez. The town was destroyed in North America's most powerful earthquake in 1964.
Written July 26, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rhys J
Llanbedr, UK2,926 contributions
May 2016 • Couples
My wife and I enjoyed our morning visit to the museum during our two night stay at the Mountain Sky Hotel, Valdez as part of our escorted ‘Natural Wonders of Alaska’ tour with Titan Travel. This museum and archive occupies two sites in Valdez - the Valdez Museum on Egan and the Valdez Museum on Hazelet. We only had time to visit the Valdez Museum on Egan and what a find! It's unassuming building contains a museum as well as a well stocked book and gift shop with some unique items on sale. The museum has a wealth of historical collections tracing the community’s history from its founding to modern times. The well laid out exhibits contain a variety of artifacts (including a wonderful fire engine), textiles, photographs, documents and audio visual materials, all contributing to tell the story of Valdez. I noticed that a number of items were on loan from private collections, indicating that it's rich and diverse collections belongs to the whole community and that they are proud of their history and heritage. The collections are also important to Alaska as they are a record of life in a small frontier town and provide an insight into some key national events in it's history. I learnt so much about the Gold Rush, the 1964 Earthquake, construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System and the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill.
This museum evolved from the first museum established in Valdez in 1901 by prospector, Joseph Bourke. He put together a small exhibit of “curiosities” that were displayed in various buildings around Valdez. All that changed in 1964, the year of the Alaska Earthquake, which struck Valdez and the town buildings including those housing the exhibits. The buildings were condemned following the earthquake and the community was relocated to the present town site and the home of this fascinating museum. This well run and maintained museum by welcoming, friendly and knowledgeable staff is well worth a visit.
This museum evolved from the first museum established in Valdez in 1901 by prospector, Joseph Bourke. He put together a small exhibit of “curiosities” that were displayed in various buildings around Valdez. All that changed in 1964, the year of the Alaska Earthquake, which struck Valdez and the town buildings including those housing the exhibits. The buildings were condemned following the earthquake and the community was relocated to the present town site and the home of this fascinating museum. This well run and maintained museum by welcoming, friendly and knowledgeable staff is well worth a visit.
Written January 21, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jennie O
Ferndale, WA89 contributions
Jun 2012 • Family
You get admission to the Old Valdez museum down the street. This is a really nice museum, recreations of miners cabins, old saloon, history of the area including the oil spill. If you're here and need a place to spend a rainy afternoon, this is a great place.
Written June 11, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Carol R
Worcester, UK347 contributions
Jul 2019
We spent about an hour at this museum as it was very interesting. It showed the art and culture of the town with lots of artifacts as well. It is very well laid out, and the staff are also very helpful.
Written August 6, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Braveheartww57
Brookeland, TX75 contributions
Jul 2018 • Family
Stopping in at the Valdez museum while we waited for time to check in to our hotel, we we're treated to some very interesting local history. The exhibits- the history of the town, the 1964 Earthquake, and the Valdez spill were all riveting. Kids were free. Everyone enjoyed going through the museum. It was very well done, and well worth our time.
Written July 21, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Shelly D
64 contributions
Jun 2017 • Couples
We learned about the oil spill and the gold mining. It was a nice and informative museum and the staff was very friendly. I liked the old bar area where you put in cards to answer questionnaire.
We wished there was a little bit more of a flow to the museum. At one point we weren't sure where to go and ended up going towards the oil spill section before the gold mine section.
We wished there was a little bit more of a flow to the museum. At one point we weren't sure where to go and ended up going towards the oil spill section before the gold mine section.
Written December 8, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Paula T
Omaha, NE35 contributions
Jun 2017 • Friends
We only had an hour and needed more time to do the place justice.
They opened up for our group on Sunday prior to our water tour. Historical perspective of the oil spill and the damage done.
They opened up for our group on Sunday prior to our water tour. Historical perspective of the oil spill and the damage done.
Written June 3, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
darthdes
Hayward, CA122 contributions
Jul 2014 • Family
Was here on 7/27 on an escorted guided tour of Alaska and admission was included in this tour.
Well run and maintained museum. Concentrated on local history, local Native culture and recreations of how Alaskans lived in the 19th and early 20th Century. They had an early red fire engine that served Valdez. They had an exhibit on the Exxon Valdez oil spill, short videos on bush pilot flying, a recreated bar, US Army Alaskan artifacts. Kids arts and crafts.
Was at the Egan Street facility (there are two locations, did not know about the second facility on Hazelet Ave and Meals Street).
Souvenir gift and book shop. Rest rooms. About $7/person. About 2 hours. Well worth it if you are staying in Valdez (within walking distance of the hotels. Everything is in walking distance in Valdez.). Friendly staff.
Well run and maintained museum. Concentrated on local history, local Native culture and recreations of how Alaskans lived in the 19th and early 20th Century. They had an early red fire engine that served Valdez. They had an exhibit on the Exxon Valdez oil spill, short videos on bush pilot flying, a recreated bar, US Army Alaskan artifacts. Kids arts and crafts.
Was at the Egan Street facility (there are two locations, did not know about the second facility on Hazelet Ave and Meals Street).
Souvenir gift and book shop. Rest rooms. About $7/person. About 2 hours. Well worth it if you are staying in Valdez (within walking distance of the hotels. Everything is in walking distance in Valdez.). Friendly staff.
Written August 10, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
HRL
Christchurch, New Zealand163 contributions
Mar 2014 • Couples
We spent only a short hour here but could have stayed longer. This is a small museum but well done. Watch the 40minute video. The best bit to us was the gentleman who was manning the fort. Should have got his name. He was a baby in old Valdez shortly after the 1964 quake and was a mine of information, not just on the old and new Valdez history but on the surrounding animals, lands and seas. Made the experience very personal, having things like his grandmother's house pointed out in the model village display. The small entry fee is great as it gives you access to both of the town's museums and is valid for a year! We loved Valdez, a real highlight of our three months in Alaska, and this little museum was part of the joy we found in this lovely little town.
Written April 2, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
RexallWillie
Atlanta, GA167 contributions
Aug 2013 • Couples
Spend at least an hour and talk with the dolcents. Every thing from the pioneers and natives to the pipe line to the oil spill, to the salmon fishing, to the earthquake.
Written September 17, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
No questions have been asked about this experience
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listingScroll back to Valdez Museum & Historical Archive information