Museum Collections

The Urban History Collection documents the people, organizations, businesses, and developments that shaped metropolitan Atlanta, particularly in the realms of transportation, commerce, communications, sports, entertainment and culture, and the city’s educational, religious, and governmental institutions. Highlights from the Urban History Collection are on display in the Metropolitan Frontiers exhibition.

The Decorative Arts and Material Culture Collection documents changing lifestyles in Atlanta and the Southeast with over 7,000 artifacts from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including furniture, fine art, glasswork, and games.

The Textiles and Social History Collection is an intimate record of the daily lives of Atlanta residents, from the city’s founding to the present day. Among its 10,000 objects are clothing, accessories, household textiles, and other personal objects. Objects from the Textiles and Social History Collection are featured in special temporary exhibitions and represented in limited numbers in the Metropolitan Frontiers and Shaping Traditions exhibitions.

The Civil War and Military Collection is comprised of 12,000 historical artifacts, of which over ninety percent date from the American Civil War. Though the artifacts documenting most American military history have a local connection, the Civil War collection is national in scope, providing objects related to both the Union and the Confederacy. Pieces from the Civil War Collection are featured in the exhibition, Turning Point: The American Civil War.

The Centennial Olympic Games Collection contains artifacts collected by the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games that document the athletic achievements of the Games, the Cultural Olympiad and the Centennial Olympic Torch Relay, as well as the planning, logistics, venues, volunteers, and staff required to present the Summer Games in Atlanta. Highlights from the Centennial Olympic Games Collection are on exhibit in the Centennial Olympic Games Museum.