Mission of The Branch Museum: As Virginia’s only design museum, and one of only a few museums dedicated to design in the country, we champion work that shifts perspectives and reimagines design’s role in shaping culture.
History of The Branch
1919 The 27,000 sq. ft. Tudor Revival style Branch House designed by John Russell Pope, is completed.
1953 Branch family gives the house to the United Givers Fund, a precursor to the United Way.
1982 Robert E. Pogue and his wife Janice W. Pogue of Richmond bought the house and set up the offices of Pogue & Associates, Inc., an insurance agency representing Northwestern Mutual.
1982 The Pogues subsequently donated a preservation easement to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. In exchange for tax benefits, the easement stipulated that “no major changes (could) be made to the exterior or interior, in perpetuity.”
1983 The Pogues successfully applied to list Branch House on the National Register of Historic Places.
2003 Virginia Center for Architecture Foundation purchases the house.
2005 Virginia Center for Architecture opens to the public.
2015 The mission and vision expands to The Branch Museum of Architecture and Design
2025 The Branch changes its name to The Branch Museum of Design in recognition of its 10 year anniversary
