Themes in American History

Fire lecture film ironic since museum was burnt down

When I first visited “The Lost Museum” I got bored and I was not interested. Truthfully, the ground floor did not really capture my attention. So, I decided to move up to the second floor and check out if there was something more entertaining. I was impressed based on what I saw on the second and third floor. I was also surprised to see that this museum was different. It actually had a wide variety of exhibits ranging from those that dealt with history, science, and entertainment. The lecture film about fire caught my attention. I thought it was a little funny and ironic that this museum included a lecture film about fire as both Iranistan (Barnum’s mansion) and Barnum’s American Museum burned down. It was also interesting to see the amounts of fires that destroyed New York City and how fires were such a big problem for the city of New York.

“The Lost Museum” showed me something very important about entertainment in 19th century NYC; that it is not much different than entertainment today. The “freak show” aspect of the museum reminded me of the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! museum in Manhattan. The wax figures in the waxworks room on the second floor were similar to Madame Tussauds wax museum also in Manhattan. Many people in New York City visit both of these museums for entertainment purposes probably the same way others visited The Barnum Museum in New York City in the 19th century.

I thought the interactive aspect of this website was a very effective tool to choose to include. It makes the visitors feel like they are in a actual museum. It is as if they are able to walk through it, move up levels and it keeps your attention and interest. The strength of this website is its ability to depict a form of entertainment in the 19th century and show how similar it is to forms of entertainment today. It also informs the visitors of the website about several different historical facts such as the assault on Charles Sumner by Preston S. Brooks (which actually happened). In my opinion, I feel they should have attempted to make the ground floor more interesting or for it to contain more interesting facts as it would impress the viewers and keep  them in the website to continue o to the other floors so they could learn more.

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After taking a short virtual visit to the P.T.Barnum Museum, I understood why it used to be the most visited place of entertainment in New York. I imagined myself walking down the hall of a lost museum, learning more about the history of the US. Such an amazing cultural experience took me back to New York in 19th century.

The museum’s mysterious spirit is attributed to the cultural development of New York. As the population of the city grew, there were more distinct differences between social classes – upper class, working class, and poor. Merchants and artisans, doctors and lawyers represented a fundamental surface of a common society. These people were interested not only in how to make money, but also how to spend them right. That is why museums and theaters were the most popular places of entertainment and amusement. I believe that Barnum museum is a great example of a cultural progression in urban society.It has its own mysterious style that cannot leave a visitor unsatisfied.

The museum itself is represented as a key to scientific knowledge and social amusement with its own mysterious signature. Among the exhibits we can find the waxworks of legendary people, such as Chang and Eng Bunker, conjoined twins; Miss Annie Swan, the tallest lady living in the 19th century; the finest picture gallery; the skeletons of unusual creatures, amusement devises, valuable documents on slavery, civil war, immigration, politics, and so many other interesting aspects of history.

There were a few posters on the wall of the Waxworks room, which is located on the second floor of our museum, that grabbed my attention. The first one, was the message with information about the play, “Our American Cousin”, which had been presented to the audience at Ford’s Theater in Washington D.C on April 14 1865. This play had soon become known for the assassination of the president Abraham Lincoln. This historical note in memory of the president Abraham Lincoln demonstrated devotion to his political achievements.

The other poster was issued by the War Department, promising a large monetary reward for a person who could find the president’s assassin. John Wilkes Booth was the name of the killer, who stepped into the President’s box at Ford’s Theater and fired a deadly shot. He became the most wanted criminal of the North in 19th century. It looks to me that P.T. Barnum was a supporter and admirer of president Lincoln, and wanted to capture such historical momentum in his museum, so one day each of us would be able to experience all of it.

Image: www. Lost Museum.cuny.edu / Second Floor / the Waxworks room

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