Due to overwhelming popularity, massive enthusiasm, and sell-out crowds, the highly anticipated Dressing Downton: Changing Fashions for Changing Times exhibition will extend its stay in the Lightner Museum’s Grand Ballroom Gallery. 36 grand costumes from the popular PBS series Downton Abbey will be available to view for an additional 4 weeks, ending on February 4, 2018 and the museum could not be happier about it.
“A blockbuster exhibition like Dressing Downton doesn’t come around very often,” said Robert W. Harper, Lightner Museum Director. “Being able to host the exhibition and extend it for 4 weeks is a rare and welcomed opportunity for both the Lightner Museum and the community. This has been an amazing journey for the museum and staff to produce an exhibition of this caliber that is usually hosted by much larger institutions in much larger cities. The museum and staff have proven capable of hosting ‘big city’ productions right here in St. Augustine.”
The Lightner Museum is the final stop of the tour and is a must-see for all museum-goers, history enthusiasts, and fashionistas. The exhibition is open 7 days a week from 9am to 5pm. Purchasing tickets in advance is highly recommended as the museum has been selling out most days.
Behind-the-scenes tours called Upstairs/Downstairs at the Alcazar will be offered daily. The tour highlights many parallels to the time period and lives of the characters of the popular television series Downton Abbey. Learn what life was like for both guests and staff who visited and worked at the Alcazar Hotel during the Gilded Age in St. Augustine. Upstairs/Downstairs tours are a lovely complement to both the Dressing Downton exhibition and the museum’s collection.
And if you’re not quite sure where to begin or how to make the most of your visit, here’s a suggested itinerary for your time at the museum:
10am Upstairs/Downstairs at the Alcazar tour
11am Dressing Downton Exhibition
12pm Lunch at Café Alcazar
1pm View the museum’s galleries and collections
2pm Save time for the gift shops!
For more information and to purchase tickets for the Dressing Downton exhibition and Upstairs/Downstairs at the Alcazar tours, visit www.lightnermuseum.org/
