Calder Gardens — Attraction in Philadelphia

Obviously the art was fantastic and the building is perfectly built for the purpose - the not perfect rating is for the staff - from start to finish they were absolutely abysmal.

The Garden is meant for discovery and reflection and at every step the staff coldly stopped you, offered no hospitality whatsoever, and were extremely strict on rules - for example i had an empty reusable water bottle, again no liquids inside, i was stopped by no less than 4 staff members borderline harassing me that no liquids are allowed in the gallery - after the 3rd time explaining to a staff member that my bottle was empty and showing each staff member then still being stopped for a 4th time - i finally just locked it in one of their lockers - mind you this is all before i even stepped foot in the gallery. The staff are sticklers for the rules but offer little help - i had a ticket and a QR code however a large line of folks started by the ticket desk - assuming thats where we scanned in a very rude woman directed all of us: "i am going to need everyone to line up like normal people in a line" Ok fine, we did then when the second person to come up to her had a QR code she said "you have a ticket - why didnt you scan?" The the gentleman asked her where to scan in - she just pointed to a machine attached to the desk . Those are just two examples of how a great collection of art meant for quiet reflection can be a bit ruined, there were many many more rude encounters in my 20 total minutes in the museum. For all the hoopla and staff in the reception area there was literally ONE in the exhibit who had his hand behind his back and didnt seek to engage anyone about the art or even offer assistance to find a restroom.

I will absolutely go back - however its simply for the art - The collection they had on display was absolutely breathtaking - it a shame i couldn't fully enjoy the experience as i assume it was meant...

A vanity project with unlimited funds but limited vision and apparently liability. The stairs going down onto the ground floor, have black walls covered with a rough texture and so poorly lit that in less than a month since it opened a few people have already fallen down.

If Philadelphia has a building code in place why was this building with this risky stairs, allowed to be opened?

Around 6 large sculptures, with another scanty number of mobiles and maybe four paintings is all you’ll get.

The seedy looking bathroom is not to be missed: you will feel transported inside a VIP room in stripper club.

If you are elderly and have poor vision visit at your own risk, and make sure your insurance covers falling down the stairs and with the textured walls as they are, an entire skin graft.

Maybe in the summer when the garden is established and in full bloom might be worth a visit. In the meantime stay away. Better go to the Whitney Museum in New York, which currently has the ‘Calder’s Circus’ exhibit, which is infinitely more rewarding...

I love that the gardens are free to the public, and have all native plants - truly a special amenity and addition to the art museum area. The Calder museum itself has beautiful architecture and displays some of his sculptures (more than just a few that others mentioned). The exhibits are very purposefully composed, and the sculptures themselves are very cool and fun to look at. The museum was very busy when we visited on a Sunday afternoon, and I imagine this type of museum is best visited during a quiet time so you're less distracted by people. While I loved parts of the museum, it felt slightly overshadowed by the steep entry price - the museum is very, very small and even going slow it took a maximum of 30 minutes. I can't justify spending $18 when I can spend $30 to spend many, many hours in the nearby art museum or a similar price to spend a day...