Exhibit Building

The Permanent Exhibit Building opened in 2021 and has expanded since that time. On the first floor, the NEW! Frank Lloyd Wright Field Office Museum opened on June 27, 2026 with an internationally recognized exhibit that showcases how Wright’s iconic style
influenced architecture for over 100 years with interactive, do-touch displays. 
Wright’s authentic San Francisco office was reassembled right here. We are also part of the Great Wright Road Trip, connecting us to Fallingwater, the Martin House, Graycliff, and more. Each year, Australian tour groups visit us multiple times.

On the second floor, the Story of Us opened in 2022 with 3,000 square feet of exhibits that trace the history of Erie County in a series of displays and interactives that include stories of people who created and built our community. It features hundreds of historic images and dozens of family stories that discuss how immigrants created neighborhoods, churches and ethnic clubs, and where and how these new Erie residents made a living.  

The Story of Us exhibit on the second floor of our Exhibit Building displays snippets of Erie County's history from its early years to more current times.

It shares the histories of the region’s earliest inhabitants and traces the experiences of people who came to call Erie home, including settlers of German, Irish, Polish, Scandinavian, Jewish, Russian, Eastern European, and Italian descent, African Americans, and more recent immigrant communities from South and Southeast Asia. The exhibit also highlights immigrant-founded businesses, local industries, and agricultural ventures that contributed to the region’s growth and character into the 21st century.

The exhibit begins with the Indigenous peoples who first inhabited this area and follows the growth of Erie County's immigrants and how they built our community.

Recognized in 2024 with the PA Museums Special Achievement Award, The Story of Us—the largest of our current exhibits at 3,000 square feet—highlights Erie's rich tapestry of culturally diverse communities and their contributions.