The mission of the Venice Museum & Archives (VMA) is to collect, preserve, and interpret historical and prehistorical material relating to the city of Venice and its neighboring communities.
VMA has a collection of 30,000+ photographs, archives, objects, and publications pertaining to area history and is housed in the historic 1927 Triangle Inn building. The museum engages the public in local history through changing and permanent exhibits, tours of the Triangle Inn, walking tours of downtown historic and architectural sites, special events, newsletters, social media, as well as onsite and offsite educational outreach programs to youth and adults. Additional services offered also include assisting the public with research requests and assisting with image request orders. The museum’s gift shop offers books, DVDs and other merchandise pertaining to local history available for purchase.
SPECIAL EXHIBIT
Now – 8/26/26
As part of Venice’s centennial celebrations, the Venice Museum is pleased to announce our newest seasonal exhibit: VENICE TURNS 100: Celebrating the City on the Gulf’s Centennial. The exhibit, which opens on September 2, 2025, will offer a glimpse into Venice’s transformation throughout the decades. See how the city has grown from a plan laid out by renowned city planner John Nolen to the thriving community it is today.
NEW RELEASE BOOK
In the Gift Shop
My Name is Old Betsy is about Venice’s first fire engine which survived the Miami Hurricane of 1926 after being flooded under 14 feet of water. Shortly thereafter, Old Betsy moved to Venice where she remains today, parked in her own museum adjacent to the Venice Museum.
Local author, Corky Dalton, wanted Old Betsy to tell the story of her 100 years in Venice. “Hop on my shotgun seat and read with me through 100 years of Venice history. Experience the people, places, and events along the way through my eyes. If you don’t want to ride shotgun, hop on my tail board and hang on!”
Old Betsy rolled with the punches from the birth of Venice through its ghost city era, the war years, The Greatest Show on Earth, and Venice’s explosive growth in the 1950s.
The book concludes with an unsolved Old Betsy mystery waiting for you to solve.
SPECIAL EXHIBIT
9/2/25 – 8/26/26
In conjunction with the City of Venice’s Centennial Celebration, the Venice Museum is proud to present our newest seasonal photo exhibit: The Grover Koons Collection: Constructing Venice, running from Feb. 2, 2026, through Jan. 20, 2027. This exhibit features the work of Grover Koons, a professional photographer who was hired exactly 100 years ago by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (BLE) to document the construction of the City of Venice in 1926. Photos from his collection show the progress of the BLE’s dream of a beautiful and profitable City on the Gulf.
IN OUR GIFT SHOP
The Venice Museum, on behalf of Margaret “Peg” Kapustiak, proudly announces the release of her latest book, Venice. Ms. Kapustiak is a researcher, speaker, local author, and volunteer at the Venice Museum & Archives since 2011. Her new book is a snapshot of Venice and its people through the years, as depicted in more than 230 historic images.Venice’s growth seemed assured when the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers decided to develop it as a planned community to be a vacation spot and retirement destination. The Great Depression dashed those plans, and the city teetered on the edge of becoming a historical footnote until it was saved by two key occurrences. Pick up a copy of Ms. Kapustiak’s book to learn about those and other formative occurrences. Venice is available to purchase during regular business hours at the Venice Museum Gift Shop.
Available in our gift shop! The fabric is 100% cotton and custom designed by a California artist, and depicts 8 lost buildings, shark teeth, hibiscus flowers and the Nolen plan. Mens sizes XL, and 2XL, and Womens S-2x. Unsure of sizing? Just bring in a shirt that fits and compare, or see size chart. Venice Museum Gift Shop is open MTW from 10am-4pm, or buy online at https://www.veniceheritage.org/shop/.
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ABOUT VMA
The City of Venice (COV) is the parent organization of the VMA. Museum staff are COV employees under the Division of Historical Resources. The Venice City Council is the governing authority for the VMA with legal and fiduciary responsibility for the museum and for approving museum policy and its annual budget.
Institutional History
Organized through the Friends of the Venice Library, on May 10, 1974, the first Historical Committee meeting in Venice, Florida was held. The Historical Collection was established in 1975 by the committee and was originally stored in a closet at the downtown Venice Library branch. In 1976 the name Venice Area Historical Collection was adopted for the collection. The City of Venice established the Venice Historical Committee in 1982. By ordinance in 1987, the City of Venice created the Venice Historical Commission and the position of Director of Historical Resources, a volunteer position at that time. The city’s Planning Department provided technical and clerical support for both the commission and the director. The jurisdiction of the commission for the “Venice area” was defined as being from Blackburn Road in Osprey South to Manasota Key.
A Custody Agreement was signed in 1988 between the Friends of the Library and the City of Venice for the COV to “maintain custody of all pieces forming a part of the historical collection owned by the Friends of the Library pertaining to the City of Venice and its history.” In July 1991 the Venice Area Historical Collection was moved to a storage space on the first floor of the newly renovated City Hall in downtown Venice. That same year, the name of the collection was officially changed to the Venice Archives and Area Historical Collection (VAAHC).
The collection was moved in September 1996 to the restored and renovated historic 1927 building known as the Triangle Inn. The name of the Venice Archives and Area Historical Collection was changed to the Venice Museum & Archives in 2012. The 30,000+ items within the collection are housed at the Julia Cousins Laning and Dale Laning Archives & Research Center and are available upon request to view.
Contact the Julia Cousins Laning and Dale Laning Archives & Research Center for appointment. (941) 882-7229 or archives@venicefl.gov
