The Long Is Museum of Amer Art History & Carriages

My previous visit to the LIM was only in brief, a desperate search for a bathroom on the way back to Queens. On a pleasant spring Saturday, we decided to do more than just scope out the bathrooms and make an afternoon of the sprawling site that is the Long Island Museum of American Art History and Carriages. (After typing that I understand why it’s shortened to LIM!)
Admissions is $ 10 and depending on your level of interest in the material you can easily spend two to four hours here. We were given a map of the property by the friendly docent who highlighted certain exhibitions, including a recent art contest and Ansel Adams display. The main building housed the art competition where I saw artistic renditions of some familiar Long Island landscapes, like various beaches and nature shots. In this age of insta-​everything, it was heartening to see that people still take the time to paint scenes of nature instead of applying pre-​made digital filters and hope to be ‘liked’ by millions.
After browsing the main building, you can cross the street and journey to the main attraction of the site– the Carriage Museum. Given the depth of this exhibit, I’d venture that the titles of the museum should really be shifted to «Long Island Museum of Carriages and a little bit of everything else».
You’ll see plenty of carriages, ranging from those used by European royals to those for children that were pulled by dogs and goats. (How foreign that idea seems when nowadays pooches are pampered!) You’ll learn about Studebakers and see the evolution from carriage to automobile, see an early electric car and ponder the question as to which model is best for you. It was fascinating reading advertisements from the early 1900’s that would probably range on the high end of the reading comprehension exams nowadays.
The other buildings on this side of the property include a cemetery, a barn and a school house. The art museum is also found here but late afternoon hunger prevented us from going.
Be sure to save the small pin that serves as proof of admission purchase. You will be challenged by the crack security squad here when you enter various buildings. Do not lose it!
The LIM makes for a pleasant way to pass the day before moving on to other highlights of the Stony Brook area. I recommend making it part of a full itinerary of the area and not the sole destination. (Unless you are extremely passionate about carriages!)

Really love this place!
Beautiful carriage museum.
Great place for the family.
Show the kids what it was like traveling before there were cars.
Also on property is an art museum and some historic buildings.

First I have to TOTALLY agree with Doug C – the security guards seemed way too predatory and seemed to relish what did seem to be stalking. My other complaint was that for a museum in the middle of suburbia there seemed to be no hands on activities for the kids – yeah, they had some listening stations but I don’t know if your kids are any different from mine, but standing and listening are not their strong points :)

We visited on a hot and humid July day as we looked for something to do indoors. This turned out to be a wonderful choice. The Carriage museum collection was comprehensive and more expansive and interesting than anticipated. The NYC exhibit was particularly enjoyable.
The art museum located in another building was also wonderful, especially the exhibit focusing on and contrasting Jones Beach and Coney Island. Very well done.
The only complaint I have is that my wife and I were followed around constantly by security guards, for whatever reason I can’t say. We felt like we were being stalked. It was unsettling and unnecessary.

There wasn’t more than 90 minutes between the my family’s arrival and closing time, so we deciced to see one area thoroughly and leave the rest for a future time. We chose the carriages. It’s a tremendous and thorough exhibit covering the history of the carriage in the U.S. up to the advent of the «horseless carriage».
My son commented on the horse-​drawn sleighs, saying that it was interesting seeing all kinds of sleighs, NOT just Santa’s, and NOT just children’s. They were improvised carriages with lots of comfort features.
A banner challenged us to decide what kind of carriage to buy for our needs. We deliberated over the question awhile since there were so many options. Just like my car, my ideal carriage had to have seating and storage for all members of my family plus good suspension for comfort. Unfortunately, not many carriages on view had what I would consider adequate protection from the elements. Some had roofs and no walls. Some had roofs and walls with window cutouts but no window covers. Those with good coverage usually didn’t have ample seating. I think my favorite is a stage coach that seats 12 inside with full protection and privacy, and has seats and storage outside. It’s overkill, I know, but it definitely has it all. Would I have 10 horses to pull it? Um, dunno, but aren’t we all rich in our fantasies?