Johnstown Flood Museum

Truly a local gem with some serious PARKING ISSUES. The struggle was that we had no prior knowledge of the town, and I could not find any obvious information either from Google Maps, or the JAHA website on where to park. Google Maps shows a decent parking lot adjacent to the museum, but it's not available for visitor parking. There were several other parking lots that we drove past, that were by permit only. There is a parking garage at the corner of Walnut and Vine, but it's 4 blocks away. At the corner of Walnut and Washington there was a blue sign with an arrow pointing over the bridge for the museum parking lot. We parked in the first lot we saw, which runs along the Conemaugh River, and is immediately past the bridge. When I asked a museum staffer, they said the correct lot was across the bridge next to the red caboose. This means you take a left after crossing the bridge heading towards the train station. This requires you to cross 3 busy streets on foot, and if you have kids in tow, this could be a nightmare. I think having this information beforehand would have been helpful. All that complaining aside, this museum oozes with charm and history. The first level has a very clear lit-up diorama-like map that shows you the timeline from the moment the dam broke, to the time it hit Johnstown. The 2nd floor is more modern with a theater that regularly shows a really good, short film on the disaster. The 3rd floor is an open space, much the way it looked when it was built in 1891, with a really neat organ. At a price of $7.50 for students 3-17, and adults at $9.50, I felt this wasn't outrageous for a non-profit. If you can do both the museum and the NPS Memorial (free), which are 20 minutes apart, I would do both, as they offer different perspectives. Literally. If I had to chose one, I couldn't. The Johnstown museum feels more authentic, but the NPS Memorial offered more space to walk around outside, and a more dramatic video of the tragedy.