The Loveland Museum is small, but mighty, with a surprising number of functions packed into a limited space. The museum was founded in 1937 by local author and mountain guide, Harold Dunning, who had begun to collect historical memorabilia around 1919. Today it is an accredited art and history museum with a vibrant schedule of events and classes. Half of the museum covers the history of the area, highlighting Great Western Sugar (sugar beets), which was the major local employer in the first half of the 20th century. There is a small, but interesting gift shop and a basement auditorium, but the other key function of the museum is art exhibits of local, regional, and national interest. The north wing of the museum is a large gallery space. The auditorium and mezzanine are also used for art display. The museum has presented very well-curated exhibits over the years and I often enjoy making the long drive from Denver to get my art fix. read more

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Fantastic small museums. Been there about 6 times. Always enjoyable experience. I will go back again when a new show happens.

This museum is small, but pack full of fun stuff. Today was Ansel Adams. I find his work fascinating and this was particularly interesting. It had a lot of shots of Japanese internment camp during the world war. It was very touching and the pictures were amazing. A lot of information that was enjoyable to read. A learning experience for sure. The pictures below are from a Japanese immigrant. Has his whole, amazing history and his work from several periods. I like the history of Loveland areas as well. There is information about the SUGAR production in this area, alabaster, and of course lots of info about the Rockies and Lovelands history. Well worth a visit . They have a very nice nice museum store. That has some pretty cool stuff. Definitely lovely afternoon spent read more

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Wonderful hidden gem with lots to offer! Saw special Ansel Adams photos of Manzanar. Outstanding! Small gift shop with cool products! Exhibits on local Great Western sugar factory and flood of 2013 along with small section on Colorado's Amache. Excellent film, too. So glad we went and will continue to watch for the upcoming exhibits! read more

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If you ever find yourself in Loveland, check out their iconic museum gallery! They really showcase the "valentines" aspect of Loveland, as well as the impressive art scene overall. There's so many cool exhibits displayed. My partner and I spent a few hours here with his family, exploring all the floors. It felt casual and familiy-friendly. Staff was nice. I love this place! read more

I saw that there was an Ansel Adams exhibit at this museum. I recently moved to Denver, and thought it would be a great reason to drive out to Loveland. Excellent exhibit. They have some really nice permanent exhibits there. And we bought some earrings and artifacts as we left.very helpful and friendly staff. read more

It very good place to enjoy with your family. I love this place. It nice to see this. I love the great western spot read more

Loveland Museum - Museums Near Me - Loveland, Colorado

Wonderful little museum/gallery! The staff are knowledgeable and friendly. I recently visited "She Bends" opening night in January (2020). What a fascinating show with neon art made by woman neon benders! The artists came from all over the world. Loved the opportunity to see their work. read more

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absolutely gorgeous space and everyone was incredibly nice and helpful! great mix of historic knowledge and beautiful art from the communities read more

Small, but a great little find in downtown Loveland. I've been here twice now for both history and art (Reporter Herald, Great Thompson Flood map), and admission prices are relatively reasonable. The docents have always been helpful. When we went, there was a children's art exhibit on display. I also found the farming history of Loveland and the pictures of the sugar beet factory pretty interesting (as my dad used to work there) read more

This museum, in a fairly small town, exhibits amazing Artworks. Both by talented, local artists, and world renowned artist. Don't live here and not see this museum. read more

Loveland is a town embracing the arts and it shows through this quaint, little gallery. My favorite is the Sweetheart Town exhibit with all the Valentine's Day cards. Every year, my dad buys me a card from here for my birthday. Ah, every once in a while, I get a little pang of missing Loveland...it happened just now. Ouch. That was a hit and run, man. Hit and run. read more

Loveland Museum/Gallery is a solid gallery, I think! I had my doubts before visiting it, after seeing such impressive galleries as the DAM, and other larger, funded galleries. This gallery has two distinct sections: the museum area which is compromised of historical Loveland-related things such as the sugar processing plant and a cool scale model of Loveland and surrounding areas, and of course the valentine program which includes stamps from years past dating back quite far. There are actual size models of general store and other type of things you might see at a small town museum, but I think this rates a notch or two over the average 'small town museum' and doesn't bore me to tears. As far as the actual gallery bit--there are rotating exhibitions, like any good gallery, which feature everything from national, local, outsider or elementary school artists! There is also a basement area which serves as a place to hold classes and things like poetry readings and other special events. All in all a good community place, and a good place for artists. I taught a couple workshops here and found the staff to be very thoughtful and helpful. They seemed genuinely interested in talking to me about the arts, job opportunities and whatever else. I've seen some really nice shows here--one of which was some work of Picasso's. A unique show which I might never have thought to see if it wasn't right down the road from me (so to speak)... read more

The Loveland Museum Gallery was a refreshing visit! The main artist on display when I was there was art by Dr. Richard Schilling. Most of his art was landscape art which portrayed meadows, cemeteries, plains and more with watercolor paintings and sketches. Most of the scenery coming from Nebraska, I believe. My favorite pieces that he did were, Forrester's Place, Shadows in the Moon, New Virginian Church and Wild Flowers, Spring Morning near the River and Prairie Cemetery which was a scratch board piece. This exhibit is going to be here until April 15th. The museum and gallery is free to the public but there is a five dollar suggested donation. The museum part is very well constructed. There are lots of historical pieces and replicas to check out. On the upstairs there is the Sweetheart exhibit which is a display of Loveland's reputation for being a Valentines town. There is also a topographical map of the Big Thompson Valley which is quite fascinating! Another exhibit that was sandwiched in with the historical displays was art by Joe Riefors from his Value Added collection. Much of it is recycled wall pieces. Parts are made out of tin cans, bottle caps and such! Very modern looking and cool! I am unsure how long this exhibit will be here, I couldn't find any dates about it. If I have any complaints about the museum it is they close WAY too early. They close at 5 PM. Now I know Loveland is one of those towns that wants to roll the sidewalks up early by early afternoon but I think the place could stand to be open at least till 6 or 7. As an aside and I hope I am not about to go on a rant too much but the Loveland Museum Gallery is the same place that had an exhibit about a year or two ago that generated much controversy. There was a print here that was controversial that somehow involved Jesus. I don't know the exact details as to what the piece portrayed but it upset a lot of people in town and several churches had protests outside the building. During all of this hullabaloo a Montana woman went in and broke into the glass cabinet where the piece was and tore it to shreds crying out that it was filth. She got arrested and sent on her way. It certainly generated a lot of news in Northern Colorado and the churches involved with the protests seemingly sulked off declaring they did not like the outcome of the situation but what would the other protesters have done if they managed to get their hands wrapped around it? When I was in the museum I say a historical piece that looked like a Nazi flag or handkerchief with a glaring swastika on it. While I certainly did not like what it was and what it represented I was not going to break into the case and tear it up. It all boils down to respect people. You might not like what a historical piece or a piece of art may portray but you owe the artist and history itself the respect in not destroying it. That makes you just as bad as the people you are trying to demonize and makes you a hypocrite when claiming to uphold freedom of speech (which includes art and historical pieces). Learn to respect others and you will respect yourself and others will respect you! Holla! read more

DO NOT LET THE EXTERIOR MISLEAD YOU!!! The interior is well done and thoughtfully laid out. The museum section of the museum is pretty much the best bit of anything you can find for free and in a small town. I was captivated in the Sugar Beet section for over an hour - I know, right? The art section of the museum is a little lacking and subdued, though that might be the result of all the wonderful support that the Loveland Teaparty and co. gave the museum this past year. The city is honored by you, Loveland Museum Gallery. read more

My fiance went here as part of the national free museum day. We weren't expecting much because the Smithsonian Magazine website for the tickets made the museum sound very small but it turns out that there's A LOT to do there! AND most of the exhibits are free. The woman at the front desk was VERY, VERY helpful and made sure we knew our way around and also told us about some other things to od in Loveland. We will DEFINITELY be going back. read more

I too was around for the Miss Sweetheart exhibit (Feb 2008), and like everything else in this small, formidable museum it was well curated. I especially liked the sugar beet history exhibit, the staff was really helpful and when I was there they had a cool poetry program in the lower level. read more

I learned so much about loveland here. This area has so much history. I caught a great deal to where we paid $5 and had cheese and wine. Great time! read more

This Museum features a wide variety of exhibits throughout the year. They keep it fresh and clean and its located just downtown Loveland so well worth the drive and perhaps after a walk through old town to visit with some of the shops. read more

Great place to visit on a cold day....interesting for all ages. We were vacationing in EPCO in March for spring break with two 20 year old young men (our son and his roommate) and our 17 year old daughter. There was a blizzard and EPCO lost their fiber optic cable. No cell phone service, no television, no wifi, and you couldn't use debit or credit cards. The kids were going crazy with boredom. We drove through Big Thompson Canyon to Loveland. Of course, I got on Yelp! to find something for us to do on a cold, snowy day that would keep everyone's interest. This museum fit the bill! Very interesting exhibits and we learned more about Loveland and surrounding areas history. There were mothers with 5 year old kids there through senior citizens. Something for all ages and the folks working there were extremely nice! read more

Pretty fun little museum. Nothing incredible or exciting, but free...so....free is good.