r.r. smith center for history & art

The Smith center contains the offices of the Historic Staunton Foundation and is itself a wonderful example of the larger project of reviving and restoring the beautiful Victorian architecture that makes Staunton such a magnet for tourists. It has a large museum space with frequently changing exhibitions on Virginia history and architecture and a small but nice gift shop.

I loved the displays on trains several months ago. But then again, all the displays are very informative.

The exhibits change. One side of the downstairs is devoted for the visual arts and the side is for historical exhibits. I've found them all to be interesting.

We used the RR Smith Center for History & Art for a joint faculty meeting. The facility is excellent and the staff were detail oriented to our needs. The sales person, Kristina Arbogast did an excellent job meeting our needs. We could not have been more pleased.We had lunch catered by a local restaurant, Cranberry's. They offered healthy options and the food was excellent.

Alternating exhibits - the one we saw was stunning--nice gift shop with local artists. Worth a drop in.

The helpful man at the Visitors Center suggested we visit the museum across the street before departing Staunton. We did, and enjoyed both the art exhibit and the railroad history photography exhibit. The gift shop was staffed by a very interesting maker of art quilts. The Docent was a theatre expert. So typical of Staunton to find fascinating people all about the town. She suggested we return to the Visitors Center and join the trolley tour of Staunton. The tour was the only portion of the morning with a fee, though the trolley itself is free. If we are open to suggestion, one good experience leads to another!

We were disappointed that the art gallery was not open (nothing displayed). Limited information. There is a gift shop, if that is your interest.

We always try to get to this interesting place whenever we visit this area. It is right across the street from the excellent, informative visitor center in a stately, historic building. They have regular changing exhibits on history, art, etc. There is no charge to visit and they are closed on Sunday.

This place always has some interesting exhibits--and it's great to wander in and be surprised at what they are offering. We'd say that the only thing lacking is marketing--it's a little hard to identify where, what's going on, and what kind of place it is if you're not a local.

When I visited here (totally on accident) they were having a showing of local youth art; totally awesome. The helpful volunteer at the desk also made my rainy day trip full of sunshine. Thank you. It’s in part because of you that I can’t wait to come back!

Located in a grand old Hotel, the exhibits are hit or miss. Sometimes they have some great local history exhibits such as on Jed, Hotchkiss and his maps, but more times than not it is more of an art gallery. A more permanent exhibit on local history would be nice.