Lightner Museum: Vintage Bicycles

The Lightner Museum presents an ongoing exhibit, Riding High: Vintage Bicycles from the Keith Pariani Collection, beginning November 22, 2024. In 2023, a temporary exhibit of bicycles from Mr. Pariani's collection proved to be a huge hit with the Lightner's visitors.

The Exhibit

Now, the museum has dedicated space for a revolving, ongoing exhibit of vintage bicycles owned and curated by Mr. Pariani, an avid collector of antique bicycles and cycling memorabilia. In fact, in 1984, he traveled across the country with seven others who were all riding antique big-wheeled bicycles. Since then, Mr. Pariani has added many bicycles to his collection. 

An engineer, he continues to collect and maintain vintage bicycles, some manufactured before the term "bicycle" became popular. He owns a velocipede, a vintage version of today's bikes, that rides on iron wheels, and several high-wheel bikes. He can be seen around St. Augustine riding his American high-wheel, manufactured in 1878 with the large wheel in front and the considerably smaller wheel in the back. 

The Riding High exhibit celebrates the art of engineering and design. Mr. Pariani changes the memorabilia and bicycles as this rotating exhibit (no pun intended) continues.

The cover photos are of bicycles and memorabilia from the Keith Pariani Collection.

Event Details

Admission: $20.00 for adults; $17.00 for college students, seniors, and military; $13.00 for youth aged 12-17; free for children 11 and younger.

When: The exhibit opens on June 7, 2024, and continues indefinitely.

Where: The Lightner Museum is located at 75 King St. in historic downtown St. Augustine.

The Museum is generally open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., seven days a week. They are closed on New Year's Day, Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.