In 1949, an A-bomb materials display room (called A-bomb Memorial Hall) was opened to the public in the Hiroshima Central Community Hall. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and an accompanying building, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Hall, were opened in Peace Memorial Park in 1955.
A group of volunteers called the Association to Support the Collection of A-bomb Materials (now the A-bomb Materials Preservation Association) and many other Hiroshima residents were instrumental in gathering A-bomb artifacts. The two buildings have been renovated several times to improve the exhibit itself, to provide peace studies facilities for school field trips, and for other improvements. The present Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum was opened in 1994, unifying the two buildings (now called the East and West buildings). The East Building traces Hiroshima's history, depicting conditions in Hiroshima just before and after the bombing. The West Building uses photographs and artifacts to convey the facts of the atomic bombing itself.
Through its atomic bomb materials, Hiroshima intends to continue appealing to the approximately 1.4 million people from Japan and abroad who visit every year for the abolition of nuclear weapons and realization of genuine and lasting world peace.