Coronado Historical Association and Coronado Museum

Small museum with free entrance! We enjoyed the displays related to the preservation of the Hotel del Coronado, and the Cross-Border Architectural Influences, but what we enjoyed the most was their mini-documentary on the history of the development in Coronado and the Hotel del Coronado. There is a small gift shop depicting local artists' work, and it looked like they were gearing up to open a cafe. Unfortunately we missed the walking tour, and their restaurant was closed, but that gives us yet another reason to go back to Coronado. Make sure to check hours of operation and tour hours on their website.

Glad we went here, got the details of a hop on off bus map but used public transport. Only $1.25 each way for us seniors, bargain. Excellent public transport links throughout San Diego. Make sure you visit the big hotel. This place is free. You just can make a donation if you wish.

We attended the Coronado historical associations Tuesday tour with our docent was Donna… She was so thorough, gave wonderful fun facts, answered all of our difficult questions as best as she could. I highly recommend this event… 5 Stars, Affordable on a budget.

ENJOY -small museum featuring histories of Coronado. FREE viewing with free maps and guides of area. Rest stop! Volunteers in service to community. Knowledgeable and friendly.

Learning the history of what it was like back in the days for submarines to our heros for keeping us safe and for letting us have the life we have today and living god bless our veterans and soldiers for keeping us safe

Great movie...really sets the stage for visiting the island.

The movie added so much depth to my knowledge of the island. You have to see it and take the walking tour.

Along busy Orange, attached to a small corner café you find a free museum. But this small museum holds a quaint importance to the island. Its very existence is about the island. The island's history that is. Informative, in the back is a video that is played on loop the history of Coronado from the first people, through the Spanish conquistadors to Hollywood's starlights and military's importance and aviations birthings, many things happen in such a small place. It's about 45-60 mins long. In the front of the museum there are main attractions, it changes every few months but the curators will be more than happy to give you a small tour. They also host walking tours of the island, just make sure to call and make an appointment. They don't do it every day. Attached is a small shop and next to it is Tent City. A very pretty café, perfect for some lunch and latte. Overall a great hidden gem in plain sight. Highly recommend.

Prime Visitor Small museum/gift shop/visitors center for the City of Coronado that's located in the heart of downtown. Evidently, they used to charge money ($5) to visit, but during our visit (Aug '22), it was free. The museum has some info on the history of Coronado as well as rotating art exhibits. This is also the home to the Visitor's Center and a small gift shop, so you can get any questions you might have and pick up some souvenirs. Nice place to visit that won't take you more than 20min but def worth a stop if this is your first time visiting Coronado.

Located in the little town of Coronado is the Museum of History and Art. This museum, almost as tiny as this town is small, has some wonderful information about Coronado's history. In the midst of the shops and restaurants, we stumbled upon this gem. For a $5 entrance fee (children are free), we spent a bit more the an hour looking at the exhibits. Information about the town's naval history, the resort The Del, and the main exhibit about James Stockdale (Medal of Honor Recipient) can be seen here. The best part of our visit was the displays about the 1969 Navy Medal of Honor recipient, Admiral Stockdale. Besides seeing all the great information about his childhood and family, there's also details about how he received his medal. The Admiral, who received this honor for his bravery during the 7 years he was held captive as a POW in Hao Lo prison in Vietnam, was truly a man of integrity. While looking at the exhibits, a young man started talking to us about his hero, Admiral Stockdale. He gave us a brief history about this "great man" and told us how he was awarded his Medal of Honor. He also mentioned that his hero's statue was located right out in front of the Naval Academy in Coronado. Although we may not have had a tour guide, this was even better! It was nice to see someone so young who was so proud of his Naval heritage. This is a fun way to see a bit about Coronado's history. The old clothing, especially the Naval uniforms, the history about The Del, and seeing the actual 1969 Naval Medal of Honor, is a great way to learn about the history of Coronado!

This is a small museum on Orange Avenue in downtown Coronado Island. We walked in and were greeted by a friendly volunteer who told us there was no admission charge and that we were welcome to go in to view the displays. The exhibition now was about the League of Wives. This was a group of women whose husbands were missing in action or taken as prisoners of war during the Vietnam war. They had basically been told to stay quiet about their absent husbands situation for many years, but they eventually banded together to get information out to Congress and the public to get some help in getting these men home, dead or alive. The exhibit included short videos, artifacts from group, outfits worn during key meetings, and pertinent information about the group. It was very interesting and you can't help but admire the tenacity and determination of those wives. Then we watched an interesting hour-long movie on the history of Coronado Island and the Hotel Del Coronado. It was a nice way to spend a couple of hours on a rainy day on the island. We enjoyed lunch at the attached Tent City restaurant after the movie.

Not sure I'd call this place a museum since the exhibits only take up enough space to fill two rooms. The museum's main focus is the US Naval influence on Coronado and how Coronado came to be. I particularly enjoyed the overview of "Tent City" and the history behind the design of the Coronado Bridge. Did you know that the bridge is curved in order to allow passage to commercial freighters and naval ships? There is no entrance fee but donations are suggested. It's a neat place to spend a couple of minutes if you're digesting a big meal or a bit early for an event at the Hotel Del Coronado. The gift shop is small and many of the items pertain to naval history. At least they have a museum...

This is a very interesting museum that I recommend for kids and adults. There is a lot of different set ups to look for that tell you about the history of Coronado and why it has came to be. I recommend for anybody visiting Coronado. A good place for photos as well.

FURIOUS! When someone walks in to a business at 4:46 pm & you tell them it's five o'clock, you don't care about customer service or making money. I have been trying to get over here to make a purchase before they close for a week. I finally make it inside & they tell me it's five o'clock! It is NOT. If it was five o'clock, and the business was in fact closed, I would hope the doors would be locked! This is the visitor's center. The employees are the face of Coronado. Common courtesy should come first regardless.

Living in the D.C. area most of my life, they have spoiled me with the Smithsonian Museums. I guess, technically this is a museum, but I really like to spend more than just a few minutes. It should be free because there is really nothing to see.

Extremely disappointed to have traveled so far and to be told no Heritage Tour would take place. Spoke on the phone with a Ms. Dora only the day before who reassured us a tour would take place, so long as we showed up 15 mins before to place a reservation. If we had paid over the phone, who knows if we would have received a refund? Unprofessional and will not be visiting this location again - strongly advise to perhaps consider another tour or group when visiting Coronado to avoid being in the same situation. However, the people who received us were very accommodating and it would be ridiculous to downplay the Historic Association and the service it pays to the locals and visitors. It is just strongly recommended to be careful when trying to take a Heritage Tour as you would not want to waste your time to visit and find out that there was no tour (as we found, despite being told otherwise on the phone).

The museum is small, but this is a small town. I think they did a good job of putting together a collection of artifacts, news reals, etc.. on the Coronado Island history. It's a great place to cool just before lunch or dinner. Besides it's FREE, and what can you find is southern CA that is free these days? ans - not as much as we use to .

Coronado Historical Association. part visitors center (brochures + a lady to answer questions). part museum ($2 suggested, you put in a donation box). part gift shop (mostly trinkets- more fancy than touristy. i opted to get my touristy things at the drug store down the street.) shares the Big/Old building with a restaurant. MUCH more History than Art. Small but Growing! Thorough & covers alot of diff. facets of the city. This is in the HEART of town! near everything! inc. all sorts of shops & the world famous Hotel Del Coronado which i learned (upon browsing the museum) is like thee place (the lady seemed unpleasantly surprised i didn't know where it was, but anyway I didn't know cuz I didn't know much of anything about Coronado, but, now I know alot- thanks to this interesting collection! :)