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Located on the site of a former trolley repair shop in Long Island City, the experimental SculptureCenter is as eclectic as its artsy-slash-industrial surroundings. The museum was founded in 1928 by local sculptor Dorothea Denslow, and for the next three-quarters of a century it made its home in a carriage house on the Upper East Side. In 2002, the nonprofit moved to the wilds of Queens, where it tapped Vietnam Memorial architect Maya Lin to add an elegant, rock-covered courtyard to the side of the old trolley shop (she kept the shop’s artfully faded sign). Inside, the main floor still feels like an airy garage, while partitioned lower-level galleries that once stored generators now feature works by up-and-coming artists (Jimbo Blachly, Rita McBride, Mario Ybarra, Jr.) as well as a smattering of recognizable names (Nancy Rubins, Anya Gallaccio, and Sol LeWitt). Because it doesn’t have a permanent collection, the center commissions the majority of its works, borrows from art collections worldwide, and parses through artists’ submissions, hundreds of which stream in during a yearly open call. — Caroline Kinneberg