Barnum's American Museum

In 1842, PT Barnum opened a combination zoo, museum, and freak show; attractions included Tom Thumb and Siamese Twins Cheng and Eng. At its peak, 15,000 visitors came daily, or 38 million total visitors.The site at Ann Street was then used for a new building for the New York Herald newspaper.

The American Museum burned to the ground in one of the most dramatic fires New York has ever seen. Animals at the museum were seen jumping from the burning building, only to be shot by police. Many of the animals unable to escape the blaze burned to death in their enclosures, including the two beluga whales who boiled to death in their tanks. It was allegedly during this fire that a fireman by the name of Johnny Denham killed an escaped tiger with his ax before rushing into the burning building and carrying out a 400-pound woman on his shoulders.

Barnum's New Museum opened September 6, 1865, at 539-41 Broadway, between Spring and Prince Streets.

But the second location also burned down, on March 3, 1868. It was after this that Barnum moved on to politics and the circus industry. Barnum's American Museum was one of the most popular attractions of its time