Barnum's American Museum Museum

Address: Historically located on Broadway near City Hall, Lower Manhattan, New York City

Barnum’s American Museum was a popular 19th-century museum and entertainment venue in New York City established by P. T. Barnum in 1841. It became famous for combining curiosities, live acts and theatrical presentations under one roof.

Patrons encountered a mixture of natural history exhibits, oddities, wax figures, live animals and staged shows in the same building, making the institution a leading mass-entertainment destination of mid-19th-century New York. The museum drew large and diverse audiences with rotating attractions.

Barnum took over an existing New York museum in 1841 and developed it into Barnum’s American Museum; its eclectic programme and popular spectacles made it widely known. The original museum building was destroyed by fire in 1865, terminating that phase of Barnum’s enterprise.

The museum stood in lower Manhattan, in the downtown area of New York City near the intersection of Broadway and Ann Street.

• Mixed collections: The original museum combined natural history displays, waxworks, curiosities, live animals and theatrical entertainments, blurring the line between museum and popular theatre.
• Destroyed by fire: The institution was destroyed by a major fire in 1865, which ended the original Barnum’s American Museum at that location.

The original museum occupied a site near Broadway and Ann/Franklin Street in Lower Manhattan. Today, the area is part of downtown Manhattan and can be reached via multiple subway lines (e.g., 1, 2, 3 to Chambers Street or Fulton Street stations) and local buses. For historical context, nearby museums and archives in Manhattan hold collections and documents relating to Barnum’s enterprises.

• The museum no longer exists in its original 19th-century form; consult local historical archives for images and references.
• For context on Barnum's collection and the site, visit New York historical societies and exhibitions about 19th-century popular entertainment.