This small downtown museum occupies the former Merchants Bank of Daytona, a marble-walled Beaux-Arts building from 1910 with its original vault still in place. The interior is one of the most attractive historic spaces in the city, and the exhibits cover the Halifax River area from Timucua artefacts through the great railroad boom, the speed-record years on the beach, and the early days of NASCAR.
The most charming object is a 1938 scale model of the Daytona boardwalk built for a window display by a local artist. Look also for early postcards, photographs of the beach races, and a fine collection of Native American pottery. The volunteer guides are usually long-time residents with stories of their own.