Barnum launched his American Museum with a grand opening in early 1842. Located at a prominent corner in lower Manhattan, at Broadway and Ann Street, the five-story museum was intended to be a place where patrons of all ages could see affordable and interesting entertainments.
Barnum's American Museum was quite different than museums today. It contained a lecture hall, and purported to put on educational programs. But it was really a place for entertainment and diversion, and featured a wax museum, live animals, and humans referred to at the time as "freak shows." There were also famous hoaxes Barnum would publicize widely, such as the "Fiji Mermaid," which was actually made by sewing together the dried bodies of a monkey and a fish.
The American Museum also featured acts such as ventriloquists, magicians, jugglers, and acrobats. The roots of vaudeville and modern variety shows reach back to the programs assembled at Barnum's American Museum in the 1840s.
