Hannah K.
Yelp
A cool, odd museum - but one worth visiting none the less!
We made Bradford a stop on our way to Kinzua bridge, and the Zippo museum was absolutely on our list of places to check out! I'm a big fan of odd/different/unique museums, and the Zippo museum absolutely fits the bill. An entire museum dedicated to lighters and knives? Hi, Hannah K., nice to meet you.
I don't know why I was so surprised to find this place so thoroughly informative, but I suppose after 500,000,000 Zippo lighters being manufactured and sold in the US, you probably have a few bucks to put together a really nice museum dedicated to its history!
On the grounds outside you'll find the Zippo car, one of the early advertisers for the Zippo lighter! Of course, it's a replica of the original (and you'll find parts of the original in the museum itself), but it's such a cool eye-grabber.
As far as museums go, it was incredibly thorough! When you enter the building you'll find yourself in the gift shop, and toward the back is the entrance to the museum. It's free to enter, so feel free to just walk around.
Once you go through you'll be taken through Zippo/Case history, from the very origins of the company to different advertisers through the years, and ways the Zippo lighters changed America. Right, I wouldn't have thought such a small object would have such a huge impact, but the WWII exhibit was incredibly cool.
Toward the back is the "Famous Zippo Clinic" - Zippos have a lifetime guarantee so if they ever get broken, you can send it in to the clinic and they will repair or replace! Unfortunately we were here on the weekend, so no one was in the shop, but it's still a fully functional facility!
There's also a ton of info on the Case brand, which makes cutlery and knives - not as much as Zippo, but still a ton of cool info to read about!
Even if you're not crazy about Zippos (I'm not), you'll still have a great time exploring this museum. There's some really cool art to see here (like the American flag made of Zippo lighters, and the neon signage). Highly recommend!