2023 Best of Lake Erie: Museums & More

Office Visit: Frank Lloyd Wright at the Hagen History Center
Follow Frank Lloyd Wright’s footsteps from his drafting room with unrolled blueprints on spacious tables to his quaint desk. The architect’s office is now open to the public at the Hagen History Center in Erie, Pennsylvania — and it’s come a long way. It was originally in San Francisco, where Wright worked from 1951 until his death in 1959. The office was disassembled, sold to a collector and now resides for all to experience in Erie. eriehistory.org/franklloydwright

Art Upgrade: Buffalo AKG Art Museum
Burnished to a new brilliance after a nearly three-year closure and a $230 million campaign to transform two old buildings and incorporate a new one, the rechristened Buffalo AKG Art Museum, which reopened this June, manages to look both forward and backward. You’ll find the museum’s vaunted collection and a new three-story glass building. Be sure to check out highlights including Paul Gaugin’s “The Yellow Christ,” Jackson Pollock’s “Convergence” and Lucas Samaras’ “Mirrored Room.” buffaloakg.org

Knots: Beagle Bay Knot Works
Beagle Bay Knot Works in Huron, Ohio, started as a pop-up shop and evolved into a robust “boat-ique” stocked with hand-knotted home and boat décor, bracelets and accessories. Owner Christine Crawford sources 100% cotton cord and then twists, ties and weaves each piece with care. From mats, mirrors and wreaths to knob covers, coasters and bottle stoppers, Beagle Bay delights creates products Crawford says are both “practical and decorative.”
beaglebayknotworks.com