He may be best known for the famous circus that bears his name, but before its founding, P.T. Barnum was the creator and owner of one of the largest, strangest attractions to ever exist. Barnum’s American Museum wasn’t what we think of as a museum today. In one five-story building, Barnum offered many different forms of entertainment that had previously only been found separately. Museum/zoo/freak show/lecture hall/theatre/wax museum doesn’t even cover everything there was to see and do there, all for 25 cents admission.
