The museum, first established in 1926, is the oldest Swedish-American Museum in the United States. Its formal dedication was on June 28th, 1938, which was the 300 year anniversary of the Swedish landing on the shores of Delaware. The building itself was based on a manor in Sweden, and the architect was a Swedish-American who combined both American and Swedish building designs. All of the information on the founding of the museum was also included in the museum itself, which I found really interesting.
My experience with the museum actually started off quite awkwardly. I visited the museum by myself on a Sunday afternoon, and I was actually quite scared of even entering it. The building itself, located within the FDR park, was rather isolated from other buildings. It also was a small museum in general, which I find …show more content…
I remember the first room I entered had a really interesting layout, with a giant map painted on all four walls. That room introduced the Swedish colonization of the Americas. There was an overwhelming amount of history, and it also introduced the ruling system of Sweden back then. In the room right after it, however, it jumped right into an integral part of the Swedish culture - alcohol. It presented many kinds of alcohol, and drinking customs. There were paintings of taverns and whatnot, and also tidbits on the temperance movement. There was also a display of silverware and pottery within the same