The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston's Fenway area is one of the world's finest galleries of art. The building itself is a piece of architectural art, built to resemble a Venetian palace.

First opening on New Year's Day in 1903, this art museum is the dream child of its founder Isabella Stewart Gardner. She and her husband had amassed a large collection during their extensive travels. It was the belief of Mrs. Gardner that it was very important for the public to have access to fine art. Thus, they began plans to build a museum. Isabella's husband died before the completion in 1901. For two years before the opening to the public, Mrs. Gardner lived there and planned where its collection should be installed.

This museum houses thousands of art objects ranging from oil paintings, sketches, sculpture, furniture, textiles, silver, ceramics, illuminated manuscripts, letters to rare books.
Their origins range from Ancient Rome to Renaissance Italy to 19th Century France and America and more. In addition to its permanent collection, the museum displays traveling exhibits from around the world, sponsors concerts, and has many other cultural activities. It is a
beautiful place with a center courtyard which blooms year round and adds a special ambiance to strolling through its various wings and floors. This museum is a must see for visitors and residents in the Boston area.

The most fascinating thing about the museum, though, is that just over eighteen years ago on the very early hours of March 18, 1990, two thieves dressed as cops and wearing fake mustaches were able to over power the museum's night guards and make off with thirteen priceless pieces of art. This crime is still unsolved despite various leads through the years taking investigators down this path and that. This crime is considered the largest art heist in history from a museum.

Reports say that at 1:24 A.M. on the morning of March 18, just after St. Patrick's Day festivities, two white men dressed as police officers knocked on the side entrance to the museum. Even though it was highly unusual to allow entrance by anyone during the closed hours, somehow these crooks were able to get the night shift security guards to let them in.
The crooks quickly over powered the guards, bound them with tape, hand-cuffed them, and put them in the basement. The entire job took them about ninety minutes in which time they stole
three Rembrandts, on Vermeer, one Manet, five Degas,

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