Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Borneo orangutan
Malaysia • 12 days, 11 nights
Wild Borneo: Secrets of an Ancient Rainforest
from
Pastel de nata
Portugal • 8 days, 7 nights
Portugal: A Culinary Adventure from Porto to Lisbon
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
The wall commemorating 11,908 Jewish victims of the Shoah from Frankfurt.
Börneplatz Memorial
Entrance to the munitions area of the lower part of the bunker
Simserhof
Carlos Calderón Yruegas calls the villa his personal playground.
Villa Tabaiba
Apples and pears, Spitalfields Market.
Brick Lane Roundels
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The sign declares this the number-one gumbo shop in town.
Gumbo Hut Shioya
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
The exterior of the Hall of Records.
Atlas Obscura Mailbag: Urban Exploration, Illegal Carvings, and Repeat Vacations
7 minutes ago
Biosphere 2 campus (2016)
Biosphere 2: How Volunteers Survived for 2 Years in an Airtight Habitat
about 20 hours ago
Places like Forest Grove linger on the edge of wilderness and civilization.
Listening for Echoes of the Forest Grove Sound
about 22 hours ago
Longwood House, where Napoleon Bonaparte spent his final years.
The Longwood House: Napoleon Bonaparte’s Beautiful Prison
1 day ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States Pennsylvania Philadelphia Ryerss Museum and Library

Ryerss Museum and Library

The Ryerss mansion in Burholme Park now houses a community library and a museum filled with a trove of oddities from around the world.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Added By
Toby Tieger
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
Chinese Puppet Theatre.   Toby Tieger / Atlas Obscura User
Chinese Puppet Theatre.   Toby Tieger / Atlas Obscura User
Ostrich Egg Box,   Toby Tieger / Atlas Obscura User
Ivory Sphere.   Toby Tieger / Atlas Obscura User
Ryerss Museum and Library   Toby Tieger / Atlas Obscura User
Snapper, the Alligator.   Toby Tieger / Atlas Obscura User
Ryerss Museum and Library   Toby Tieger / Atlas Obscura User
Ryerss Museum and Library   Toby Tieger / Atlas Obscura User
Papier Mache Crab Exhibit   paulypaul / Atlas Obscura User
Exterior of Ryerss Museum   paulypaul / Atlas Obscura User
Ryerss Museum and Library   Toby Tieger / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Few museums in Philadelphia are filled with a collection of art and artifacts quite as strange, random, and fantastic as the Ryerss Museum and Library. And what's really surprising is that the whole place is free.

There are literally hundreds of items to see in the large rooms of the museum section in this old Victorian home, so this is one of those places that benefit from repeat visits. A few notable pieces include the museum's mascot, Snapper (a stuffed alligator calling card holder), a giant oil painting of two of the Ryerss family's pet dogs, and the carved ivory spheres that hold other independently revolving, concentric ivory spheres inside. It's also worth searching for the large Chinese puppet theater, the ostrich egg box, and taking the time to appreciate the countless small and intricately carved figurines. 

The history of the place is also interesting—in the final year of his life, the unmarried 65-year-old heir to the house married his housekeeper, Mary Ann Reed, with the understanding that she would continue to expand the collection and eventually donate it to the public. When he passed away a few months later, she used her inheritance to continue collecting knick-knacks, art, and oddities from abroad for the rest of her life. 

Related Tags

Libraries Collections Museums

Know Before You Go

The museum and library are open on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 10 am-4 pm. There is free parking on-site.

Community Contributors

Added By

Toby Tieger

Edited By

paulypaul

  • paulypaul

Published

October 19, 2023

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Ryerss Museum and Library
7370 Central Ave
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19111
United States
40.068623, -75.088626
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Beth Sholom Congregation

Elkins Park, Pennsylvania

miles away

Frankford Avenue Bridge

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

miles away

Grey Towers Castle

Glenside, Pennsylvania

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Philadelphia

Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

Places 75
Stories 40

Nearby Places

Beth Sholom Congregation

Elkins Park, Pennsylvania

miles away

Frankford Avenue Bridge

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

miles away

Grey Towers Castle

Glenside, Pennsylvania

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Philadelphia

Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

Places 75
Stories 40

Related Stories and Lists

Get Thee To Totality: New York

List

By Atlas Obscura

Related Places

  • Some of the buildings which form the Palace Green Library

    Durham, England

    Palace Green Library

    This library dates back to the late 17th century and was one of the first public lending libraries in England.

  • Cuypers Library

    Amsterdam, Netherlands

    Cuypers Library

    This gorgeous reading room houses the oldest and largest art history library in the Netherlands.

  • Ricardo Brennand Institute.

    Recife, Brazil

    Ricardo Brennand Institute

    A Tudor-style castle in Brazil holds one of the world's largest armory collections.

  • Akin Free Library.

    Pawling, New York

    Akin Free Library

    The attic and basement house two museums stuffed with oddities like swallowed spoon handles and a shrunken head.

  • The Pember Museum

    Granville, New York

    The Pember Museum

    Tucked away on the second floor of a small town library is one of the great private Victorian taxidermy collections looking today very much like it did in 1909.

  • Baku, Azerbaijan

    Museum of Miniature Books

    A gigantic collection of teeny, tiny books.

  • Lock model

    New York, New York

    John M. Mossman Lock Collection

    Hundreds of antique bank vault locks on display in New York City.

  • Brussels, Belgium

    Bibliotheca Wittockiana

    Only museum in the world devoted to bookbinding and book arts holds a permanent collection representing five centuries.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.