What makes a museum worth travelling to see? Sometimes it’s world-famous artifacts, master paintings or groundbreaking installations. (OK, that’s most times.) But sometimes it’s finding the country’s largest collection of vintage clocks just off the highway, or exhibitions of vintage fashion in an unexpected small city.
is full of these super-specific and sometimes surprising museums in small towns and cities, where tourism provides a significant, if not essential, economic boost. Here are some truly unique attractions where you can learn something new and niche, and meet like-minded enthusiasts, all while keeping your tourist dollars in the community. Find Cambridge’s Fashion History Museum in a 1920s-era art deco building once used as a post office.
At the modestly sized but well-curated in Cambridge, you’ll find 300 years of vintage frocks, couture gowns, hats and haberdashery, modern designs and more. (Co-founder and curatorial director Jonathan Walford was the original curator at Toronto’s .) It’s located in the former village of Hespeler — a perfect pit stop if you’re road tripping between Toronto and — in a 1920s-era art deco building once used as a post office.
Current exhibitions include the suggestively named Only Fans, which, just to be clear, is about actual fans. Walford has revealed that if they can’t secure funding commitments from the City of Cambridge. So, visit while you still can, and help keep this important collection accessible to.
