Holiday Exhibits Have Opened

At The Barnum Museum

BRIDGEPORT — The Barnum Museum galleries have been decorated for the Christmas season.

For the sixth year, the museum has staged a presentation that interprets the evolution of the holiday season. Both period rooms have been decorated for the Christmas season in styles reflective of the 19th Century, detailing how the holiday actually came to be a tradition in American society. Period costumes from the museum’s collection enhance the decorative Victorian tree displays.

The exhibits will be up through January 7.

Kathleen Maher, executive director and curator of The Barnum Museum, will offer gallery talks on Thursday, December 14, at 11 am and 6 pm. Each will chronicle the evolution of the Christmas celebration during the 19th century. The presentations cover how the Christmas tree came to be part of a newly developing tradition in American households, and how the industrial revolution impacted the festivities of the holiday.

The Barnum Museum has three floors of exhibits that illustrate the extraordinary life of Phineas Taylor Barnum.  P.T. Barnum, one-term mayor of Bridgeport and four-term member of the Connecticut General Assembly, was born on July 5, 1810 in Bethel and died on April 7, 1891 in Bridgeport.

The original museum building, owned by the City of Bridgeport, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is handicapped accessible. 

The Barnum Museum’s regular hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am to 4:30 pm; and Sunday, noon to  4:30 pm.

The museum will be closed Thursday, November 23, and Sunday and Monday, December  24-25. It will be open regular hours on New Year’s Eve (Sunday, December 31), closed on New Year’s Day, and will resume regular hours on Tuesday, January 2.

Museum admission is $5 for adults, $4 seniors and college students, $3 for ages 4-17, and free ages 4 and under.

The museum, at 820 Main Street, can be reached by calling 203-331-1104.