Bowery in Manhattan in New York County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Freaks! Assassins! Giant Squids!
101-103 Bowery
Photographed By Larry Gertner, July 22, 2016
1. Freaks! Assassins! Giant Squids! Marker
In 1881, Worth’s Museum and Congress of Living and Intimate Curiosities opened at 101 Bowery. Like other dime museums which lined the Bowery, Worth’s offered a variety of freakish amusements, such as the largest specimen of giant squid in North America and what was claimed to be the preserved head of Charles Julius Guiteau – the assassin of President James Garfield. Children who brought a live mouse to feed to the museum’s 54 rattlesnakes, were admitted for free.
From 1876-1878, 103 Bowery was home to Bunnell’s New American Museum, founded by dime museum pioneer George Bunnell, a former assistant to P.T. Barnum. Like Barnum, he offered exotic exhibits and stage shows, but at cheap prices. Housed on three floors, visitors flocked to oddities like the “Two-Brained Baby,” preserved “Mermaids” (dead manatees) and Jo-Jo, “King of Dog-Faced Freaks” (a boy with the condition hypertrichosis). The first floor “Theatorium” offered snake charmers and sword-swallowers, as well as vaudeville and burlesque acts. The second floor was a live animal menagerie and the third floor housed a wax museum devoted to sinners called “Dante’s Inferno,” in which spectators were encouraged to sneer at hated public figures like robber baron Jay Gould and William “Boss” Tweed.
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this page online
Erected 2016 by Bowery Alliance of Neighbors.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Entertainment. In addition, it is included in the Former U.S. Presidents: #20 James A. Garfield series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1881.
Location. 40° 43.051′ N, 73° 59.709′ W. Marker is in Manhattan, New York, in New York County. It is in the Bowery. Marker is on Bowery near Hester Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 101-103 Bowery, New York NY 10002, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. "I'm Not A Nice Girl" (a few steps from this marker); NYC Landmark Of Cast Iron (a few steps from this marker); “A Carnival Of Debauchery!” (a few steps from this marker); Ghosts And Occasional Mayhem (within shouting distance of this marker); Man Survives Leap From Brooklyn Bridge! (within shouting distance of this marker); Bowery Savings Bank (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); From Beaux Arts Bank To Bananas (about 400 feet away); Former Bowery Savings Bank (about 500 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Manhattan.
More about this marker. One of more than sixty entries in
Photographed By Larry Gertner, 2010
2. 101 Bowery
Now The (New) World Hotel
Also see . . . The Bowery Historic District - National Park Service. National Register of Historic Places documentation - download. (Submitted on April 7, 2024, by Anton Schwarzmueller of Wilson, New York.)
Photographed By Larry Gertner, July 22, 2016
3. Inset
A different incarnation
Photographed By Larry Gertner, July 22, 2016
4. Inset
A Bowery dime museum
Photographed By Larry Gertner, July 22, 2016
5. Inset
Jo-Jo, King of Dog-Faced Freaks, aka Jo-Jo, the Dog-Faced Boy
Photographed By Larry Gertner, July 22, 2016
6. Inset
In 1839, at 101 Bowery, P.T. Barnum opened a store/manufacturing center for cologne, shoe polish, and bear’s grease hair loss ointment.
Credits. This page was last revised on April 7, 2024. It was originally submitted on April 18, 2019, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. This page has been viewed 207 times since then and 24 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on April 18, 2019, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
