Museum of History Benicia

You will want to visit to find out why Benicia is so important to California History. Lots of great exhibits and an extremely experienced director and curator areraising the level of professionalism. Check out the website .

"To go East, you must go West. To go West, you must go East"-Quaithe to Daenerys Targaryen, Song of Ice&FireThe Benicia Historical Museum is a monument to a failed presidential idea- having camels in the army, during the administration of Franklin Pierce. While the camels were mainly in Fort Tejon (Southern California) and Texas, it was in Benicia where they were kept in the sandstone barns&auctioned. The buildings are quite impressive, with a long history. Back in the day, admission used to be $12 and the museum was open per reservation; now it's $5, and they are open with very limited hours.The docents are very friendly, the lower lot is ample&somewhat well-paved, and the signage was OK, considering the adventure one can have thru the industrial parks, going past Valero refineries, car lots, shipping. Be sure to read very closely about Fir Road and Camel Road. The upper parking lot is quite small&tight- so I skipped that one.The docent was very friendly, showing how the museum will be getting additional exhibits on Benicia in the Native American, Spanish&Mexican eras. One can learn about the Benicia Arsenal, the camels, the Gold Rush, the Pony Express. Little Benicia has a lot of history.Interestingly enough, camels did get their start in North America- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJNoAE0UHzY So one could argue camels were retro, for the time.Pros- A well done museum, plenty of exhibits, a deal at $5, great service.Cons- Kind of difficult to find, and it's in the middle of an industrial area. Be aware of your surroundings. Have maps or Waze, because it's a maze.

I had my wedding here on February 8th. And let me say it was just incredible.Benicia is actually my hometown, and we used to go to the museum upstairs when we were kids, but I had NO IDEA that the ballroom underneath even existed. When a potential venue fell through, I found this place and sent my parents to check it out (I live in Southern California) and they fell in love with it.The room is large, with archways and big windows on one side (great for light). There's a beautiful little garden outside in the back, with a fountain and a large courtyard, a small-ish lawn and wood trellis. It's pretty much a blank slate, but in no way boring...it's got a lot of character, and very reasonably priced. After discussing some of the specifics with the wonderfully friendly staff (we needed a place that would let us serve my dad's homemade beer and choose our own caterer, etc) we booked it. Throughout the planning process, I had a lot of questions and they did their best to answer them all. The hours are a little wonky, since it's a museum, but if I left a message for them they always got back to me within a couple of hours of getting back into the office. They are flexible, knowledgeable, and kind. They let us into the venue several times to measure the space and worked well with all of our vendors. We got to decorate the space the day BEFORE the wedding (There's a small extra fee, but it's pretty much included in the price) and I can't tell you what a relief it was to be able to be around for the decorating, see how it turned out, and not have ANYONE have to worry about it the day of. That was incredibly valuable to us, especially my fiancé, who works in technical theatre for a living and likes to have a hand in the lighting and design aspects.The day of my wedding was beautiful and just how I pictured it. I am so glad my other wedding venue fell through, because that place was meant to be our wedding locale. Check this place out, you will not regret it.

I had my 50th birthday party here with about 70 guests. All I have to say is read every word of the contract and you will go elsewhere. I did not find out until 2 weeks before my venue that it is a no smoking property. ( I should have read the fine print) but did not ever think that a place that had weddings would not have a designated smoking area. I was told that my smoker guests had to go sit in there car or walk about a football field away to the above street that was not there property. The night of the party my 13 year old nephew and nieces went outside to eat there tacos at an outdoor area. The care taker came in shaking the contract in my face using his finger to underline the fact that minors are not aloud outside without an adult. This was after he approached my friend who was outside with her daughter and a couple kids and told them the kids needed to go inside and again found it necessary to come in and pull me away from my party to use his finger again to underline the party about minors outside. I later found out that an adult was out there with them? He came in at the end of the night and even though I paid $150 cleaning to have the place swept and mopped. He made my husband get out a mop and clean under the keg table. He said it was sticky and stood there holding the contract watching my husband mop with a smirk on his face. Holding the contract in his hand he then walked my Husband around the whole property making sure everything was in order. It took at least 15 minutes. I would not recommend this place to anyone who has diverse ages. The caretaker is on a total power trip and is quite creepy and weird.

No idea if its worth visiting for historical purposes but, if you're going for the music and it's an evening show, this place is an absolute disaster. First, the address on the ticket is wrong for GPS; the address given gets you to a dark, unlit building with no parking. Aiming for an 8 p.m. show, Feb 24, I spent almost half an hour driving around the car storage lots and Valero entrance before a friendly security guard had me follow him to a completely different location on FIR St (note to museum: your Black Irish Band concert was not on Camel Road!). There were no signs, no lights, no people; absolutely nothing to help get to the show.And no-one to greet or check tickets. The amateurish event management was matched by the drunken, boring, self-indulgent ramblings of the owner of Black Irish Band. Or was I just annoyed by the incompetence of the "concert" organizers that I'm being mean to the performers? No; they really weren't much better than the promoters of Camel Barn shows. Note to Benicians: don't ever go here for evening entertainment. Not to visitors; we apologize for this embarrassment.

I recently relocated to Benicia from Marin and i LOVE that it has some history! The Benicia Historic Museum is located in the depths of the Arsenal - driving to it is a fun way to see some of the older buildings, especially if you don't often venture in that direction. It's situated in a spot that was a little confusing at first.. the entrance is on the top floor, so make sure to drive up the gravel driveway and not to the parking lot below.As for the Museum itself, it's a mix of actual artifacts (arrowheads and gold mining tools) and some questionable items (little glass statues of camels). I like that it's set up in a time-line format. Each little area has a story with pictures and items to supplement your learning (yay, learning!)The staff is very friendly and helpful - I stopped by the other day to take a look at a potential wedding space downstairs and the woman let me and my fiance take a peek around the building. If I decide to have my wedding here, I will update my review. If you're wondering what the whole camel thing is about, stop inside the museum! Hours: Wed - Fri 1pm - 4pmPrice: Adults $5, Seniors/students $3, Children $2, under 5 Free

Don't miss it! A short drive from the main area of Benicia. If youre from the area, especially if you live here, its a must-see. If you consider yourself a cool person, you better.

We recently hosted a large birthday party at the Benicia Historical Museum in the Stone Room and outside garden area. It was a wonderful venue. The museum staff were fantastic, flexible, and very easy to work with. They went out of their way to help us make the event successful. The indoor space is large and can be set up in any number of different ways, depending on the party. The small adjoining kitchen is a real bonus. The gardens behind the building were also a beautiful area for our guests to mingle before the party itself started. If you are looking for a beautiful, historical, unique, and accommodating venue for a party or event, you will be very happy renting this space.