Reopening Barnum Museum still a long-term goal
Bridgeport tornado nearly 13 years ago damaged iconic structure and its contents
BRIDGEPORT — Legendary 19th century showman P.T. Barnum was so good at drawing visitors to his attractions that he famously posted misleading “This way to the egress” signs to hurry people out the door.
Now, though, officials at Bridgeport’s Barnum Museum are facing the opposite problem. No guests have come through the doors of the 820 Main St.museum since a 2010 tornado damaged the building, and there is no telling how much longer the historic building will remain closed to visitors.
“If we had $30 million today, we could be reopened in like 2½ years,” Executive Director Kathy Maher said.
The Barnum Museum is on the National Register of Historic Places and is dedicated to Barnum & Bailey circus founder, former Bridgeport mayor and longtime resident, P.T. Barnum. Built in 1893, it contains more than 60,000 artifacts related to Barnum, Bridgeport and 19th century America.
The 2010 tornado caused damage that included the shifting of the museum’s dome and blowing out several windows. One of its walls pushed out, too.
In the years since, the museum has raised $15 million toward repairs. That money has largely gone toward repairing the building’s iconic onion dome and east wall, and to clean some of the estimated 20,000 artifacts that sustained damage from water,
“If we had $30 million today, we could be reopened in like 2½ years.” Barnum Museum Executive Director Kathy Maher
dust, humidity and bits of broken glass.
But Maher estimated the museum would need another $30 million to restore the inside of the building.
The tornado caused ventilation systems to blast soot and debris onto the artifacts, Maher said. Similar “puff backs” also occurred during Hurricane Irene in 2011 and Superstorm Sandy in 2012.
The museum spent years negotiating with insurance companies over damage to the museum and its collection.
In 2018, the Connecticut State Bond Commission approved a $6.9 million grant for the Barnum Museum, which Maher said has been used to restore its exterior. The museum received a $500,000 grant from the National Parks Service in 2021 to repair its 79 windows.
Maher said the museum struggled to raise money during the COVID-19 pandemic due to being unable to meet with potential investors.
“The opportunity to get out into the community, meet with people, meet with companies, just simply didn’t happen for like two years,” Maher said. “We tried to meet people over the phone. It was tricky. People were very invested in their families at that time.”
But even with its fundraising efforts returning to normal, the museum is facing an uphill struggle. Despite needing to raise double its total from the past 13 years, Maher said she expects to complete the project within a decade.
She pointed to how the museum was recently invited to apply for the state-run “Good to Great 2.0” grant program, which awards up to $500,000 to fund projects for arts, cultural, or history nonprofit groups. The museum also applied for funds from the Community Investment Fund, which the Connecticut General Assembly established in 2021.
When the building does reopen, Maher said guests would be in for an entirely new experience.
“The Barnum Museum prior to the tornado was a traditional museum with artifacts in cases with labeled copy,” she said. “What we’ve learned is the world has moved past that. We’re going to tell the story in the Barnum Museum through some of the themes in Barnum’s life: rebounding from failure, risk-taking, illumination through curiosity.”