Treasures from the Attic — Behringer-Crawford Museum

Behringer-Crawford Museum in Devou Park is in the final days of “Treasures From the Attic: 250 Years of Fashion & Furniture,” an exhibition on view through August 9, 2026. The Covington museum says the show traces how everyday objects — chairs, garments and household pieces — can document how people lived, worked and presented themselves across two and a half centuries. Museum materials say the exhibition opened February 14 and was developed with Northern Kentucky University’s Public History Program. ### What is actually in the exhibit? “Treasures From the Attic” centers on furniture and fashion rather than a single person or event. Behringer-Crawford Museum says visitors are asked to look closely at details such as tool marks, joinery, screw heads, veneers, seam finishes, silhouettes and fabric choices to understand who made an object, who used it and how it fit into daily life. (bcmuseum.org) Museum text says the clothing on display ranges from corseted dresses and empire styles to flapper-era looks and polyester leisure suits. The furniture side of the show uses objects from parlors, bedrooms, factories and fields to show changes in craftsmanship, technology and cultural expectations over time. (bcmuseum.org) ### Why does the museum frame old chairs and clothes as local history? Behringer-Crawford Museum describes the objects as records of ordinary life. “Furniture and clothing are some of the most personal historical objects we have,” Sarah Jordan, the museum’s collections associate and an NKU student, said in museum materials. She said those objects “carry the marks of the people who made them and the lives of those who used them.” (bcmuseum.org) The museum says the exhibition is part of the national America 250 commemoration. Its materials say regional woods, imported textiles, handcraft and machine production all appear in the pieces on view, giving visitors a way to connect household objects to broader changes in work, trade and social customs. (bcmuseum.org) ### Who helped put the show together? Northern Kentucky University’s Public History Program worked with the museum on the exhibition. Behringer-Crawford Museum says the partnership gave students hands-on experience in collections care, education and exhibition development while also supporting the museum’s collections and programming. (bcmuseum.org) Dr. Brian Hackett, an associate professor of history at Northern Kentucky University, said in museum materials that the relationship gives public history students “real-world experience” and helps the museum with “the energy and skills of emerging professionals.” That account comes from the museum’s event page for the show’s February opening. (bcmuseum.org) ### Is this a one-day event or something you can still catch this week? August 9, 2026, is the listed closing date for the exhibition. Behringer-Crawford Museum says current hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, with the museum closed Mondays and national holidays. The museum is at 1600 Montague Road in Devou Park, Covington. (bcmuseum.org) Cincinnati.com included the exhibition in its Aug. 3-9 weekly things-to-do listing, describing the museum as “celebrating 75 years of art, culture and community” and pointing readers to its featured collections. ### What should a visitor know before going? (bcmuseum.org) Behringer-Crawford Museum presents the show as a close-looking exhibit rather than an immersive installation. Its description tells visitors to read objects for evidence — a chair leg, a button, a seam or a finish — and use those clues to reconstruct how an item moved through everyday life. (cincinnati.com) Sunday, August 9, is the last day listed on the museum’s site for “Treasures From the Attic: 250 Years of Fashion & Furniture.” Behringer-Crawford Museum says details and visitor information are available through its website, and Cincinnati.com included the exhibition in its entertainment roundup for the week of Aug. 3-9. (bcmuseum.org)