The first archaeological museum in İzmir was opened in 1927 in the Ayavukla (Gözlü) Church in the Basmane district after three years of collecting works of art. In 1951, a second archaeological museum was opened at Kültürpark. Due to the high number of works from the surrounding ancient cities, a new museum was needed.

Therefore, a new and modern museum building was built in an area of 5000 m² within the Bahribaba Park in Konak and it was opened on February 11, 1984.
The museum was designed to meet all kinds of needs with its showrooms including laboratories, warehouses, photography studio, library and conference hall. The works of art numbers are over 5000 in the museum building and in the garden.  

The three-storey museum building was designed in sections:

Top Floor Showrooms:
The works in the first gallery of this hall of the museum were found in various parts of Western Anatolia. Small-scale works such as figurines, pottery and oil lamps made of glass, bronze, ring stones and terracotta are grouped and exhibited in showcases. These took part in a chronological order from prehistoric times to the end of the Byzantine period. The original locations of the works are not known for sure. These works were brought to the museum by means of donation, confiscation and purchase.
The works in the gallery of the showroom are works of art known that were found as the results of archaeological excavations done by scientists. These are also displayed in chronological order within the context of being educational and instructive. The works in this section are the works that were found in the archaeological excavations in the ancient cities of Old Izmir, Çandarlı, Myrina, Foça, Erythrai and Lasos.
There is also a treasury room on the same floor. In this section, we can see the bronze Demeter, whose golden grave gifts, glass and bronze works of were found in Halicarnassus. Some of the showcases are arranged with gold coins from the Greek and Roman periods and coins of the Duchy of Venice.

Middle Floor Show Room:
On this floor, which is the entrance floor of the museum, marble statues, busts and statue head portraits are exhibited. These works in the hall are in a chronological order like the upper floor. In the 8 showcases in the halls, small sized works made of marble were also grouped among themselves and showcased.

Both the Korean Statue, which was found in Erythai and it is one of the first examples of the large-scale marble statues from the Ancient Period, and the Statue of Bronze Athlete, which was found in the Kyme and it is one of the rare bronze examples, at the entrance of the hall are particularly important. This hall represents Western Anatolia in full with its works.

Downstairs:
Part of this floor is divided into grave cultures. In other sections, sarcophagi and funerary steles made of terracotta and marble on various dates are exhibited. Among the sarcophagi, terracotta Clazomenae sarcophagi can be seen which was famous for its sarcophagi in the ancient world. The late Hellenistic funerary steles in the hall are among the richest in the world. Among the important structures of the Hellenistic era, the “Belevi Burial Monument” ceiling cassette reliefs are also in this hall.

In addition to the beauty of the high relief statue group of Poseidon, Demeter and Artemis found in the Agora Antique City, which are now completely in the center of İzmir at the end of the hall, because they are found in İzmir, they are among the stunning examples of the hall.

With this view, İzmir Archeology Museum gives enough information about Western period's civilization and culture periods from Prehistoric ages to today. In addition, it is one of the most important museums in Türkiye that exhibits the sense of art in the ancient times and their superiority in this area with examples.