Themes in American History

Barnum’s American Museum was located at the corner of Broadway and Ann Street in New York, from 1841 to 1865. The museum was mysteriously burnt at that time and the Lost museum was recreated to have people in modern time to visit and experience culture in the 19th century through website.  The museum offered both strange, and educational attractions.

Barnum opened his museum  to create a place where families could go for wholesome, affordable entertainment, but his success drew from the fact that he knew how to entice an audience. At its peak, the museum was open fifteen hours a day and had as many as 15,000 visitors a day. The museum was a spectacular place for people coming to enjoy it in 19th century.  People came to this place with their families and socialize with other people.  The cultural history of New York was people gathered in one place and watch other people’s show and share their opinions with each other while they were exploring the museum.

In my opinion, the strength about the website as a historical tool like Lost museum is that it helps people to experience and have more understanding about the historical facts that were really exist and greatly affected people but been destroyed. The weakness was it was mimicking the historical event, the accuracy would be affected.

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The Lost Museum, a digital recollection of the past, enables the audience to browse history with only a few clicks and drags. The experience allows the audience to click and search with past advertisements of recreations and events of the time, to really understand and be apart of the world of the past. The site does a good job of grabbing the attention of the users by stimulating this mysterious question of “who burned the museum” which entices the audience by setting an overall theme to the entire experience of visit. In my opinion, the museum is certainly an applicable method of pertaining to today’s internet era by creating this online museum. The weakness however derives from the lack of graphics with numerous cliches and outdated maneuvers. The archives is the actual beauty of the entire website because of the massive collection of historical artifacts and documents. The museum’s virtual tour allows the audience to get a good sense of the past by portraying a cultural aspect with pictures and artifacts of events that happened inside and out of the museum.
The 3-D attraction lacks in it of itself because it pretty much was 2-D, but the content of it all seemed to educate the audience through the idea of curiosity and amusement. The museum needs a little bit of more organizing because it seems to be a bit confusing and scattered but all in all was a amusing experience with new things learned and understood. One thing that interested me was the ad of the Baby Show that went on during the events of the museum. What lacked was the in-depth explanation of what really went on during the Baby Shows.

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Exploring The Lost Museum was a very interesting experience. It took me quite a while to be able to learn how to navigate through this virtual museum. On one hand, this website is interactive and keeps you involved in exploring the website the way you want to. You can start exploring from the ground floor or from the 3^rd floor and it’s up to you to pick what you want to read about. On the other hand, it takes too long to figure it out how to use this virtual museum as a historical tool and I wish they would simplify and incorporate table of contest on each floor. Overall, it helped me to understand the events and entertainment that was popular at that time in NYC and how P. T. Barnum’s American Museum was a highlight for many visitors in mid-nineteenth-century in New York City.

I found this picture in Waxworks Room on the second floor. This picture represents one of the things that I have learned through the website. It helped me to learn that although President Lincoln invited African American men to serve in Union Army, they were still at disadvantage and were underpaid and treated as inferiors.  

At the end, The Barnum museum taught me about entertainment in 19th century in NYC. This was a time when Tom Thumb and the original Siamese Twins were highly popular for entertainment. According to the website, “Much of what made the enterprise so remarkable was carried on by Barnum’s circus. Among the items on display were the farcical, unconvincingly cobbled together “FeJee Mermaid” and very real, majestic whales.  Lectures on religion and abolition took place in the museum’s theater.” This shows us that New Yorkers were entertained in various ways even in the days without TV or Digital World that our generation is consumed by entirely and sees it as almost the only way to be entertained or taught.

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The Lost Museum ,based of my first glance on the website, seemed like chaotic yet fun way to spend a day back in the 19th century. By going on this website you can tell what kind of spectacles people back in the 19th century did that was considered as their entertainment. Somethings ranging from having wax figurines of caged women all the way to hosting BABY SHOWS! These are some things that if were done today would probably be considered illegal and/or taboos! Some other things they showcased in the museum was the worlds tallest person at 8 feet tall.  And also showcased Joice Heth as an African American slave who was 161 years old as she claimed she was a nursemaid to George Washington. But when she died it was made clear she was no older than 80 years old. Regardless, The Lost Museum can be considered as a mix of today’s Ripley’s Believe it or Not and even The Guinness Book of World Records based of the items they showcased for entertainment.

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Well as I entered the Lost Museum I 1st thought this couldn’t be that difficult to find everything. Well was I wrong because navigating threw the website was work on its own.  One of the major strengths about having this website as a historical tool is it makes it much easier for people to find certain historical information as in having to go to an actual museum. Another pro is that not all the interactive things are exactly the same some are writings or little clips. What did get me a little confused was who was the lady talking once you enter the museum? The weakness as some other people stated was some of the floors were slightly dull. What they should do is make more floors so people can be available to more history. I was really intrigued by the slide show on the huge fires in NYC during those times.

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This museum website is pretty interesting. I say that one would just have to take their time exploring this site, I didn’t find it hard to navigate and I would definitely tell my friends to check it out for themselves when they have a chance.

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Half fish, half human (is it possible?)

The lost Museum created by Barnun in the 19th century

I think that Barnun’s entertaiment in the 19th Century was original for the time. He was trying to combine what he thought about American History and a Freak show at the same time. Let’s be real, what is that fish thing in the picture above. He had a collection of birds and beasts living in the same cage happily that is odd. Besides I believe that if one went missing he replaced it right away. What I really liked a lot was the “Glass Steam Engine” even though, there is no clear picture of it, from an angle it looks amazing. The museum also have a small theater where there was different types of shows.

The museum tried to entertain and educate with exhibits on natural history, American history, and with attractions of enormous nature. What shocked me was that everyone was allowed to enter to the museum with the exception of African Americans until the Civil War. New Yorkers of diverse ethnic, gender, and class identities mingled in the museum’s shared cultural space. People likes entertainment of all types and shapes and this shows it.

One of the strengths of the museum website as a historical tools is that this museum was real. It entertain people in the 19th century. The main weakness is that most of the pictures that are available to see doesn’t have any type of description so people like me doesn’t know who they are or what they did in history.

Maria Leon

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While exploring the Lost Museum, the first thing we visited is the office of PT Barnum, who’s entitled the Proprietor and General Manager of the Lost Museum. Then, we moved on to the second floor, where we would see so many pictures regarded to the slavery history of US, Mexican-American War and the Civil War. One of the images that caught my attention is “John Brown on His Way to the Execution”.  John Brown played a major role in the start of Civil War, who was a revolutionary abolitionist. The picture showed that John Brown was surrounded by a number of soldiers, a baby held by an African-American woman stand in front of him. The archive states that John Brown pausing on the steps of the jail, and leaning down to kiss the baby holds by the African-American woman. The image fully represents John Brown’s faith of abolishing slavery in the US.

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Barnum was an American showman, businessman and entertainer during the nineteenth century. The lost museum website has been developed; since the museum burned to the ground. The museum was affordable and family oriented; its attractions made it a combination  zoo, museum, lecture hall, wax museum and theater, that was, at the same time a central site in the development of the American popular culture. My tour into the museum has been a thrilling one; one of the most famous was General Tom Thumb a 25- inch tall dwarf. Stratton is the real name of General Tom Thumb, Barnum made him nationally and internationally famous. From a very early age he taught him to sing and dance so that he shines in the show business. Barnum also accompanied him to Europe to perform in the audience, and General Tom Thumb also gained popularity as an international star after the tour.

            New York nineteenth century society unites historians, scholars, artists, philosophers and dreamers. Members volunteer their time and talents to help one another create public events, workshops, lectures, exhibitions etc.

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P.T Barnum’s Museum was burned down in 1865 and “The Lost Museum” became a website that gave people the chance to discover what the museum was all about. If your not much of a online computer person, you would have trouble navigating through the website.

I felt like I was Sherlock Holmes trying to solve a mystery. There was much to explore in this virtual museum. This museum was a place where families could go for entertainment. The way the museum attracted people was through a combination of having a zoo, lecture hall, wax museum, theater and a freak show. During this time, it was vital development of American popular culture. What stood out to me was the image below. It is the original “FeJee Mermaid” (a monkey’s head and torso combine with half of a fish) and it was originally brought in the Museum in 1842. It’s purpose was to be attractive and appealing to Americans’ fascination.

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Lost Museum isn’t only a simple website which allows users to get an idea about New York during 19th Century. There is a very interesting story about “Lost museum” which explains what the purpose to navigate on line exhibitions is. In 1865 there was a fire which burned P.T Barnum’s American Museum.  The Lost Museum is sort of replication of that place and gives an opportunity to discover who is responsible for the fire. Unfortunately I couldn’t figure out who commit the crime but I found many interesting pieces of art which gave me a great overview of cultural history in New York City.

On the ground floor I found a poster which announces Baby Show Contest. According to the website the poster is a composite of text and images from primary sources, which provides with great details about this popular culture. This simple ad, points of the importance of family life and role of motherhood in those days. Also the idea of having a baby contest proves that people from 19^th century wanted to be entertained and the social life was very important to them. They didn’t worry about their privacy and they were ready to share their private life with no doubts. I won’t judge them because it reminds me a little bit of today’s Facebook but instead of publishing pictures on line, New Yorkers presented their babies during social events. Because mothers had to explain how they feed and take care of the baby so children had to be treated very well. But those were perceived as controversial, depending on contestants’ motivations. Probably some of they were introducing their babies to the public just to improve and entertain their simple domestic  life.  I believe that they were also individuals who were motivated by the awards, in this case money, which presents lack of morals and great desire to generate the profit. Besides the money the winner parent also gain prestige and respect in the society. It seems a little bit like “using a babies” for entrainment. In addition, according to the website, children who were looking foreign or poor in appearance couldn’t participate, which introduces discrimination and racism.

The 19^th century was very interesting time for American popular culture. People were seeking new attractions and entertainments which already suggest that New York population will be known from their unconventional ideas.

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