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The Dia:Beacon museum in Beacon, New York. It's not much to look at outside... I'm not sure what's up with the "mard" in the foreground here, and I would call the cement blocks that allow grass to grow through a failed experiment: they just make it look like an abandoned property. But then, you don't come to this museum to look at the outside... The inside is much more impressive. I wish I had some pictures to share, but no photography is allowed inside. :(
My visit had sort of an inauspicious start, as about the second gallery I walked into had modern art featuring canvases painted white. I actually briefly thought I'd wandered into a gallery that wasn't complete yet. (Artist: Robert Ryman) I mean, talk about your bad cliches, incarnate. Luckily, the rest of the exhibits were much more interesting! Some of it really spoke to me, which was a nice experience. One of my favorites was a group of art by Robert Smithson; the picture in the link doesn't really do it justice.
I can see why they put this museum all the way up in Beacon. The galleries are absolutely enormous-- 240,000 square feet in all. You simply can't afford to devote this kind of space to this subject matter in Manhattan. Many of the exhibits flat-out require a large space.
The interior architecture of Dia:Beacon is amazing. It's in a former box factory. There are sky lights throughout and the natural light flooding the galleries is fantastic. The Boston Globe architecture critic praised it, and I can see why. I could have spent the day taking pictures of just the interior of the building. (Except, uh, no photography allowed.)
For those who wish to visit without a car, I saw for myself that the Beacon stop on the Metro-North RR is under a mile from Dia:Beacon, and there are plenty of signs showing the way to walk. no car == no excuse not to go.
So, is it worth a 3 hour excursion to go see? It depends. Do you love modern art? Then by all means, go on a day trip and experience it, already! Not so much? If you're passing through, it's definitely worth a stop.