Gandhi Museum is located in a building known as 'Tamukkam Bungalow.' The word Tamakkumu (also Tamagamu) is a Telegu word meaning 'a summer house.' The bungalow is constructed on top of a square mound of earth about 5 meter high with a masonry dome of about 7 meter diameter. It is believed that the building was constructed by Nayak Queen Rani Mangammal. The Museum was inaugurated by Shri Jawaharlal Nehru on April 15, 1959.
The museum has a gallery presenting the visual biography of Gandhiji. It contains photos, paintings, sculptures, manuscripts, quotations, and some original articles on Gandhiji. A special exhibition, "India Fights for Freedom", greets you first in the museum. It has 265 illustrations depicting the history of the Freedom Movement. The khadi and village Industries section on the ground floor of the buildings houses exhibits of some of the village industries which Gandhiji revived.
The building has an open air theater with a capacity to accommodate 8,000 people. To the south of the building is the Gandhi Kudir which is a replica of Gandhiji's hut in Sevagram. There is a library on the northern side with 18,000 volumes on Gandhian themes. The library has a huge collection of photostat copies of letters of Gandhiji and 62 reels of micro-films.
