Americans love to celebrate the best of just about everything. Nothing makes that more evident than the amazing number of halls of fame scattered across the country. People, places and things — the subject doesn't seem to matter — there's probably a hall of fame among the hundreds out there to extol and memorialize its merits.
Sports lead the list. Whether it's football or field hockey, curling or cricket, there's a hall of fame dedicated to honoring its top teams, players and coaches. Music in its many genres is well represented, too, with nearly 30 halls of fame saluting star performers.
I've labored over the Web's exhaustive lists of HOF sites to come up with a representative roster of halls of fame — ranging from the nation's best-known and most visited to a few that can only be described as obscure and offbeat. Regardless, they're where the best of the best call home.
Pro Football Hall of Fame, Canton, Ohio
More than 10 million fans have come to Canton (where the pro game was founded) to pay homage to one of America's most popular sports. Expanded four times since opening in 1963, it now occupies 118,000 square feet dedicated to tracing pro football's history back to its inception in 1920.
Typical of a major HOF, it's a mega-attraction featuring high-tech interactive displays, one-of-a-kind artifacts and historical information that document the game's greatest players, coaches and events, including all 49 Super Bowls. The Hall of Fame Gallery houses bronze busts of each inductee — now at 300-plus. Visitors can learn about each member through touchscreen kiosks that display biographies, photos and videos.
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Springfield, Massachusetts
Notable for its trademark 15-story-high spire with an illuminated basketball on top, this HOF is named for Dr. James Naismith, who invented basketball in 1891 when he was a physical education instructor at Springfield College. It was Naismith's answer to the need for a new indoor recreational game for the winter months.
The story of how the sport has grown worldwide is told here through dozens of entertaining exhibits and 40-plus video programs. It features the sport's greatest teams, players and contributors from 1891 to present day. Interactive exhibits allow roundballers of all skill levels the ability to compare themselves to basketball's greats by shooting hoops, rebounding and "playing" against virtual superstars.
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Cooperstown, New York
Currently drawing nearly 400,000 visitors a year, America's baseball HOF features more than 40,000 artifacts related to the game's past, including one of Babe Ruth's lockers, a glove worn by Willie Mays, a ticket booth from Yankee Stadium and much more.
Visitors are greeted with a multimedia presentation called "The Baseball Experience" in the Grandstand Theater, followed by the "Baseball Time Line," an exhibit that details legendary teams, players and historic moments throughout the sport's 169-year history. The "Hall of Fame Plaque Gallery" serves as the centerpiece of the historic institution, where the likes of Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio and more than 300 other members are honored for eternity.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Cleveland, Ohio
The world's first and only HOF and museum devoted to the celebration and preservation of rock and roll music rises dramatically on the shores of Lake Erie. Its boldly geometric design, from "starchitect" I. M. Pei, projects the energy that is the signature of this groundbreaking musical genre.
A triangular-shaped 65,000-square-foot glass "tent" serves as a striking entry façade, welcoming nearly a million visitors a year who come to view an impressive collection of iconic rock and roll artifacts and a roster of on-going and temporary exhibits. Utilizing film, video, interactive kiosks and, of course, music, this museum offers a fast-paced and highly entertaining journey exploring the past, present and future of rock and roll music.
Country Music Hall of Fame, Nashville, Tennessee
Situated at the epicenter of Music City's rapidly growing central core, this HOF is often called the "Smithsonian of Country Music" because of its extensive world-class collection. Housed in a modern and imaginative structure, country music's high temple recently unveiled a $100 million expansion, doubling its size to 350,000 square feet.
In the museum's core exhibition, "Sing Me Back Home: A Journey Through Country Music," visitors are immersed in the origins and traditions of country music — and the stories and voices of its most honored performers. Stories are revealed through artifacts, photos and text panels richly overlaid with recorded sound, vintage video and interactive touchscreens.
National Cowboy Western & Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Once known as the Cowboy Hall of Fame, this institution has grown considerably in size and scope since its founding in 1955, seeking more recently to broaden its mission of preserving and interpreting the history and cultures of the American West. The museum features an internationally renowned collection of western art and artifacts while presenting a wide range of educational programs designed to help visitors gain a better understanding of the West.
The collection of classic and contemporary western art on view here is unmatched and includes famous works by Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell. An exhibit wing houses a turn-of-the-century town and interactive history galleries that focus on the American cowboy, rodeos, Native American culture and firearms.
Robot Hall of Fame, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
As one of the more esoteric halls of fame, you won't have to queue up to get in here. But with the rapidly growing application of robots in all aspects of modern life, it's bound to gain popularity. Created in 2003 by Carnegie Mellon University to recognize excellence in robotics technology, the Robot Hall of Fame (RHOF) at Carnegie Science Center features the world's largest permanent robotics exhibit.
Some of RHOF's most famous inductees are unavailable for exhibition — such as the Mars Rovers — or exist only on film, like WALL-E, the fictional robot of the namesake Disney/Pixar movie. Examples of mechanical life that are on display include NAO, an autonomous, programmable 22-inch-tall humanoid robot; PackBot, one of the best-known and most successful robots ever developed; and Roomba (shown above), the popular home-cleaning robot. It performs bomb disposal and other dangerous missions for the military and first responders.
International Santa Claus Hall of Fame, Santa Claus, Indiana
This whimsical HOF is located (where else?) in the town of Santa Claus, Indiana. Don't take it too lightly, however, because your neighborhood shopping mall Santa won't make the cut here. Only well-credentialed Kris Kringles can become hall members.
For example, Charles W. Howard earned induction due to his longtime role as Saint Nick in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. And there's honoree Edmund Gwenn, who collected an Oscar for his portrayal of Santa in the classic 1947 movie "Miracle on 34th Street."
Burlesque Hall of Fame, Las Vegas, Nevada
It might appear that the aim of this unusual HOF would be to appeal to the prurient interests of Sin City's male visitors. Such isn't the case, however, as this small downtown museum exposes minimal flesh in its quest to celebrate the art of the tease and the stars of the form — including such honorees as Candy Barr, Lili St. Cyr and Tempest Storm — who go too often unsung for their talents as stage performers.
Emphasizing the art and rich history of burlesque, the museum exhibits costumes, props, photos and personal belongings of the best burlesque dancers ever to have shook what their mama gave 'em.
