Oklahoma National Guard Museum (87)
- 22 hours ago
- 3 min read
OKLAHOMA CITY
This is something that I haven't done before. Visited a museum for the second time except it's kind of the first time, but it was a different museum the first time than it was the second time. Okay, I'm confused now too. To clear things up a bit, near the beginning of my museum quests, I went to see the Oklahoma National Guard Museum (#7 on my list) in its old home on NE 36th Street in OKC. I was lucky to have seen it when I did because they were closing the museum permanantly three days from the day I showed up. The guys at the museum told me they were building a new facility to house their massive 45th Infantry collection. Flash forward a year and a few months and I'm standing outside the brand new museum that was two and half years in the making. I was hopeful that it was going to be cool. And I was not disappointed!
Another rare thing that happened with this museum was I got to see the progress of it being built. On Instagram, I started following Kendra, the Senior Curator and Historian for the museum. (You can too if you want at PatriotDame) She was, and still is, so great at sharing little tidbits of information, construction photos, display pieces, and even pics and videos of them moving all the military vehicles from the old location to the new one. It was honestly a fantastic build up to opening day. I had to be out of town for awhile so I missed the grand opening, but I got a visit scheduled as soon as I could. I got to the parking lot and saw all the vehicles perched outside, spruced up, and looking great. Since it was about as hot as the surface of Mercury outside, my phone began to give me a heat warning. I snapped pics as quickly as I could and headed inside. I usually try to avoid seeing photos of a museum before I go. I would rather be surprised when I see it in person. But, since I had already seen preliminary photos on Instagram, I kind of knew what was coming. However, when I got inside, I was still awed by everything I saw.
I remembered a lot of the vehicles and artifacts from when I saw them in the first location, but they all looked fresh in this new setting. And there were plenty of things that I don't remember at all. When I went to the old museum, one of the volunteers told me they had a lot of stuff that hadn't been on display because there wasn't room for it. I would say the new place has plenty of space for nearly everything. But with all that space, what I particularly enjoyed was each display wasn't jam packed with memorabilia. Sometimes trying to display everything overloads my brain and it blurs together like the drawer I keep all my spare junk in. But each section of the 45th Museum was well done. And the giant photos!!! As you can see in some of the photos below, there are some wall-sized photographs that enhance the experience like no museum I've been to before. I spoke with one super nice docent name Frank and we both marveled at the process that got a photograph to be that big without pixilating or blurring. Truly a fascinating aspect of this already great museum.
If you're like me and you saw the Oklahoma National Guard Museum in its old location, consider yourself lucky. It was a one of a kind treasure. It was a charming building filled to the brim with amazing things. The Guard is going to keep that building, refurbish it, get it back to the 1936 footprint, and use it for various events. So, thankfully, it's staying!! But you should revisit their collection in its new home on Grand Blvd. You'll be surprised by how much different it seems. And if you have any questions about anything on display, they have a few volunteers floating around to chat with. I had a great time slowly walking though, chatting with Frank, and learning things I didn't know about. Take some time and go see it too!
3301 NE Grand Blvd, OKC
572-247-7470
Entry Fee: Free
Hours: Tues-Sat: 10:00-5:00, Sun: 1:00-5:00
Jonathan Elmore ©2026
