National Comedy Center
The National Comedy Center is the US official cultural institution and state-of-the-art museum dedicated to comedy. The Museum and archive are located in Jamestown, New York, and documents the history of comedy and the artists, producers, writers, cartoonists, and other notable figures who have influenced its development in the US. It was designated the US National Comedy Center by the United States Congress on February 26, 2019.
The Center opened in August 2018. National Comedy Center also operates the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Museum located a few blocks away.The entertainment industry supports the National Comedy Center with donations of materials related to famous persons in comedy. Individual donors include Dan Aykroyd, The Lenny Bruce Memorial Foundation, the Kelly Carlin and the George Carlin estate, the Harpo Marx Family, Carl Reiner, the Garry Shandling Estate, Jerry Seinfeld, and Lily Tomlin. Entertainment companies have donated items from their corporate archives, including Desilu Too, NBC Universal, Paramount Pictures, and Warner Brothers.Recongition
The National Comedy Center was named the “Best New Museum” in the country by USA Today as part of the 2020 USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Travel Awards.
In June 2019, the National Comedy Center was named one of the 100 reasons to love America.
In August 2019, the National Comedy Center was named one of the world's 100 best places by Time magazine.
