American Dime Museum facts for kids
The American Dime Museum (ADM) was a unique museum in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It was started on November 1, 1999, by artist Richard Horne and writer James Taylor. The museum aimed to bring back the spirit of old "dime museums" that were popular in America in the 1800s and early 1900s. These were places where people could see strange and wonderful things for a small fee, often just a dime. The American Dime Museum officially closed its doors in late 2006.
What Was Inside the Museum?
The museum first opened in two rooms of a building on Maryland Avenue. This building used to be Richard Horne's antique shop and art studio. Soon, the museum grew to fill the entire first floor. It had galleries that looked like old dime museum exhibits. There was also a lower area that showed "sideshow" attractions, like unusual performers or displays. Another part of the museum was dedicated to old-time stage shows and natural history exhibits. For a short time, there was even a wax gallery with a famous display called "The Lord's Last Supper," which was a common sight in old wax museums.
During its years, the American Dime Museum, often called "the Dime," showed many different things. Some were real, and some were "authentic fakes," also known as "gaffs" by show people. These gaffs were cleverly made items that looked real but weren't, designed to amaze visitors.
The museum became very famous. It was written about in major newspapers like The New York Times and The Washington Post, and even in travel magazines like National Geographic Traveler. It also appeared on TV and radio, including National Public Radio and the National Geographic Channel. One TV show even featured the museum's giant mummy! The museum was also used for filming documentaries about sideshows and unusual entertainment. In its front window, the museum displayed a copy of a famous giant ball of string from a local restaurant.
Why Did the Museum Close?
Richard Horne and James Taylor, the co-founders, decided to go their separate ways in November 2003. Richard Horne continued to run the museum until it closed. He then sold off his part of the collection in February 2007. James Taylor, after leaving the partnership, soon started a new museum in Washington, D.C. called the Palace of Wonders. This new museum also featured live stage performances, which were a big part of old dime museums but something the American Dime Museum didn't have space for. The Palace of Wonders opened in June 2006.
The Museum's New Life
In 2002, an artist named Peter Excho (Pexcho) visited the American Dime Museum in Baltimore. He was really impressed by the museum and its owner, Dick Horne. Soon after, Pexcho started volunteering at the museum. He learned a lot about the old art of preserving sideshow history, a tradition that began with P. T. Barnum in the late 1800s.
After Dick Horne's collection was sold in 2007, Pexcho went back to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. There, he reopened his coffee and art house, Insomkneeacks. He started collecting his own wonders and oddities, often finding them online. He also received some exhibits from Horne's collection and bought a few at the museum's auction.
With Horne's blessing, Pexcho began building a new and improved American Dime Museum inside his Insomkneeacks location in Baton Rouge. This new museum featured both living and preserved specimens from the natural and unusual world, including baby animals from North America. By 2011, Pexcho's American Dime Museum had many unique wonders and curiosities.
This new museum continued the tradition of "Curiosity Cabinets," which were collections of interesting objects kept in wealthy homes in the late 1800s. Peter Excho has brought the American Dime Museum back to life for a new generation. He preserves and displays truly amazing, rare, and fantastic things that still exist today. He is now the caretaker of this special legacy that started with Barnum and was continued by Dick Horne. Pexcho gives visitors a chance to experience an authentic Victorian-era American Dime Museum in the 21st Century.
As of June 8, 2019, Pexcho moved his American Dime Museum to Augusta, Georgia, where it reopened.
