The Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum (REM) is devoted to ancient Egypt, located at Rosicrucian Park in the Rose Garden neighborhood of San Jose, California, United States. It was founded by the Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis (AMORC). The Rosicrucian Order continues to support and expand the museum and its educational and scientific activities. The museum holds the most extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities in the Western United States and is next to the Rosicrucian headquarters.
The founder of AMORC, Harvey Spencer Lewis, was a collector of various artifacts with mystical symbolism from the East. His very first artifact was a small Sekhmet statue. In 1921 he contributed financially to the archaeological excavations at Tel el Amarna (Akhetaten, the capital city of the 18th dynasty pharaoh Akhenaten) of the Egypt Explorations Society of Boston by receiving donations from AMORC members. In return, the Egypt Explorations Society donated several Egyptian antiquities to AMORC. In 1928, he presented to the public a collection named “The Rosicrucian Egyptian Oriental Museum,” located at the administration buildings of AMORC at San Jose, California. Supposedly, the San Jose location was chosen because of the affordability of the land back then. After Lewis’ tour in Egypt in 1929, AMORC received many more artifacts and donations, and as a result, the collection grew significantly, with more than 2000 exhibits.
Exhibits
A notable activity took place in 1999 when the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum started the traveling exhibition “Women of the Nile” accompanied by many lectures. “Women of the Nile” traveled across the United States of America and Canada and continued until 2001. In 2000–2002, a stone figure of Cleopatra VII from the collection was displayed in Rome, London, and Chicago in similar exhibitions. Bed Bug Exterminator San Jose
The Rosicrucian Alchemy Exhibit
Beginning in 2015, for the 100th Anniversary of the incorporation of AMORC in America, which owns and operates the Museum, the museum’s Rotating Exhibits Gallery became The Rosicrucian Alchemy Exhibit. The highlights of the collection were put on display in this exhibit. This exhibit, curated by the alchemist Dennis William Hauck, features a journey through the seven stages of the alchemical process, a meditation chamber featuring the Azoth of the Philosophers and a recorded guided meditation, and a full-size reproduction of an alchemist’s workshop.
Restaurants and Pubs
- Park Station Hatchery is located at 1701 Park Ave, San Jose, CA
- Tee Nee Thai Cuisine is located at 1423 The Alameda, San Jose, CA
- Willow Den Public House is located at 803 Lincoln Ave, San Jose, CA
Check out other attractions like San Jose Municipal Rose Garden