Correction: The original version of this article was posted with the incorrect photo. The Mercury regrets this error.

As a native of Lewisville/Flower Mound, I usually only traveled to Grapevine, a town about 30 miles away from Dallas, to visit the Grapevine Mills Mall. I did not quite realize that within this quiet suburb there is a large, exciting area to explore close to home. Main Street Grapevine, also known as the Grapevine Historic District, is filled with museums, restaurants and bars reminiscent of the town’s history. Try and make this area part of your summer excursions and fun. Here’s a preview of some places available to visit.

Gidden Art Gallery: 624 S. Main St, Grapevine, TX 

The Gidden Art Gallery on south Main Street opened up in 2012.  The owner of the museum, Cherrie Gidden, said that Texan painters made many of the pieces in the museum. Some, in fact, are right from Grapevine. There are watercolor, oil and acrylic paintings, as well as steel sculptures and “found object” sculptures (objects constructed out of random items.) This little museum was listed as the second best art gallery on the Dallas A list, a website that rates local Dallas businesses based on votes by website account holders.

Grapevine Historical Museum: 206 West Hudgins St, Grapevine TX 

A little farther away from the Gidden on West Hudgins Street is the Grapevine Historical Museum. The building is constructed to look like the Grapevine Ice Company, which provided ice to Grapevine residents in the 1900s.  Now the building serves as a museum which features phonographs, radios, sewing machines and blankets from early Grapevine residents.

Donald Schoolhouse Museum: 206 W. Hudgins St, Grapevine, TX 

The Donald Schoolhouse was originally built in 1900 on the Grapevine Prairie. This museum gives a peek into the origin of the Grapevine-Colleyville school district. The house contains two rooms with little school desks and little chalkboards reminiscent of those used in old schoolhouses.

Settlement to City Museum: 206 W. Hudgins St, Grapevine, TX 

Another museum on Hudgins Street filled with artifacts from Grapevine’s history including a lie detector used by the early Grapevine police department.

All three of these museums are open from Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Vintage Tex: 603 S. Main St, Grapevine, TX

Vintage Tex is a clothing store that just recently relocated from Colleyville to Main Street Grapevine. According to one of the sales associates, the clothes sold there are all authentic, ranging from the 1920s to the 1970s. People from the community come to sell or even donate their old vintage clothing. The store is open from Monday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Sunday from 1 p.m. to  4 p.m.