Bishop Museum history

The Museum opened in 1947 on Bradenton’s Memorial Pier with the Montague Tallant collection of Florida’s First Peoples pre- and immediate post-contact archaeological material along with collections relating to the scientific and cultural history of southwest Florida and Manatee County.

In 1949, Baby Snoots, a West Indian manatee, who would later be known as Snooty™, arrived.

In 1966, the Museum moved to its present site on 10th Street West and added the Bishop Planetarium, named in honor of Edward and Lillian Bishop.

Honolulu became a prime staging area for the remainder of World War II, a position it retained during the Korean War and until the end of the Indochina (Vietnam) conflict in 1973.

In 1980, a replica of the Spanish town of Barcarrota’s Plaza, featuring replicas of a 16th century home and chapel, was built around a centerpiece fountain that showcased a monumental equestrian bronze statue of Hernando De Soto on horseback.

The Parker Manatee Rehabilitation Habitat, with a 60,000-gallon pool for Snooty™, opened in 1993 and completed the Plaza with above-and-below-water viewing capabilities, a medical pool, an exhibition viewing area and allowed for additional manatees.

A complete renovation of the Museum’s exhibits and education facilities began in 1998.

In August 2001, an early-morning electrical fire destroyed the Bishop Planetarium and severely damaged a newly completed state-of-the-art education wing and all of the Museum’s administrative areas.

She also led development of an interpretive master plan for the Museum in 2014, and was deeply aware of the Museum’s collections, scholarship, and potential.

On July 23, 2017, the Museum suffered the tragic loss of Snooty and the City of Bradenton lost its most famous resident when he died at age 69.