The Museum of Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda
| Arts/Culture
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The Museum of Antigua and Barbuda was founded in 1985 and resides in the former St. John’s Courthouse, built in 1750 and believed to be the oldest building in town. The architect was Peter Harrison, well known for many fine buildings in the United States and the West Indies, from Mansion House in New York City to the Spanish Town Statehouse in Jamaica. The Court of Justice was held on the ground floor, with meeting rooms for the Legislative Council and Assembly upstairs. (For more on the history of the building, see Desmond Nicholson’s Heritage Treasures of Antigua and Barbuda, available at the Museum.)
The museum’s main floor houses exhibits relating to the history and culture of Antigua and Barbuda, including the geological formation of the islands, the Amerindian peoples and cultures who inhabited the island prior to European settlement, and recent Antiguan cultural practices. There is a library upstairs that has a large collection of pre-Colombian and historical artefacts, including ceramics, faunal remains, and metal objects, and an extensive collection of primary and secondary materials, including texts, maps, and photographs.
