History Museum at the Castle

Museum in Appleton, Wisconsin

History Museum at the Castle

The front entrance to the History Museum at the Castle

Established| 1985
Location| 333 East College Avenue,
Appleton, Wisconsin
Public transit access|  Valley Transit
Website| www.myhistorymuseum.org

Masonic Temple

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

Coordinates| 44°15′44″N 88°24′5″W﻿ / ﻿44.26222°N 88.40139°W﻿ / 44.26222; -88.40139
Built| 1923
Architect| Leenhouts & Gutherie
Architectural style| Tudor Revival
NRHP reference No.| 85002330[1]
Added to NRHP| September 12, 1985

The History Museum at the Castle is a local history museum located in downtown Appleton, Wisconsin across College Avenue from Lawrence University. Owned and operated by the Outagamie County Historical Society (OCHS), the museum has previously operated under the names The Outagamie Museum and The Houdini Historic Center. The building was earlier known as Masonic Temple. In 2018 the museum was a recipient of the 2018 National Medal for Museum and Library Service, the highest honor given to a museum or library in the United States.[2]

## History

[edit]

The building in which the museum is housed was formerly a Masonic temple, built in 1923, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as "Masonic Temple". Appleton's Waverly Masonic Lodge sold the building to the OCHS in 1985.

The museum's collections focus on the history of the Fox River Valley, containing artifacts from the 1840s onward. The History Museum at the Castle also has a large collection of original Harry Houdini personal documents and performance paraphernalia, including a selection of his picks, locks, keys, and handcuffs. The museum also holds a collection of artifacts from the life of Senator Joe McCarthy, who was from the Appleton area. The museum owns 35,000 photographs dating back as far as 1857, including ones of Houdini, McCarthy, and Edna Ferber.

## Other Houdini museums

[edit]

* American Museum of Magic
* David Copperfield's International Museum and Library of the Conjuring Arts, which is closed to the public
* Houdini Museum (Scranton, Pennsylvania)
* The House of Houdini
* Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin houses Houdini ephemera and a large collection of Houdini letters and manuscripts.[3]
* Houdini Museum of New York

## See also

[edit]

* List of magic museums

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. ^ Nyman, Shane (May 1, 2018). "History Museum at the Castle wins nation's highest honor". Post-Crescent Media. Archived from the original on May 4, 2019. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
3. ^ Compeer (December 13, 2016). "House of Houdini Opens in Hungary". The Magic Compass. Society of American Magicians. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 23, 2017.

## External links

[edit]

* The History Museum at the Castle
* Waverly Masonic Lodge

* v
* t
* e

Fox Cities

Largest municipalities (over 10,000)|

* Appleton
* Fox Crossing
* Grand Chute
* Greenville
* Harrison
* Kaukauna
* Little Chute
* Menasha
* Neenah

Points of Interest|

* Community First Champion Center
* Fox Cities Exhibition Center
* Fox Cities Performing Arts Center
* Fox Cities Stadium
* Fox River Mall
* High Cliff State Park
* History Museum at the Castle

Transport|

* Appleton International Airport
* Brennand Airport
* Valley Transit

* v
* t
* e

Magic and illusion

General|

* Assistants
* Clubs
* Conventions
* Exposure
* Stores

Genres|

* Bizarre
* Card (techniques)
* Cardistry (history)
* Children's
* Close-up magic
* Coin
* Escapology
* Gospel
* Mathemagic
* Mental
* Platform
* Séance
* Stage
* Street

Tricks and
techniques|

* Levitation
* Equivocation
* Misdirection
* Sleight of hand
* Pepper's ghost

Guidebooks|

* The Discoverie of Witchcraft (1584)
* Modern Magic (1876)
* The Expert at the Card Table (1902)
* Tarbell Course (1928–)
* Thirteen Steps to Mentalism (1961)
* Mark Wilson's Complete Course In Magic (1975)
* Conjuring (1992)

Periodicals|

* Abracadabra
* Genii
* Hugard's Magic Monthly
* The Jinx
* The Linking Ring
* Magic
* Magigram
* Mahatma
* Smoke & Mirrors
* The Sphinx

Lists|

* Conjuring terms
* Films about magicians
* Magicians
* Museums
* Publications
* Timeline
* Tricks

Related|

* Indian magicians
* Midnight ghost show

* v
* t
* e

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

Topics|

* Architectural style categories
* Contributing property
* Historic district
* History of the National Register of Historic Places
* Keeper of the Register
* National Park Service
* Property types

Lists by state|

* List of U.S. National Historic Landmarks by state:
* Alabama
* Alaska
* Arizona
* Arkansas
* California
* Colorado
* Connecticut
* Delaware
* Florida
* Georgia
* Hawaii
* Idaho
* Illinois
* Indiana
* Iowa
* Kansas
* Kentucky
* Louisiana
* Maine
* Maryland
* Massachusetts
* Michigan
* Minnesota
* Mississippi
* Missouri
* Montana
* Nebraska
* Nevada
* New Hampshire
* New Jersey
* New Mexico
* New York
* North Carolina
* North Dakota
* Ohio
* Oklahoma
* Oregon
* Pennsylvania
* Rhode Island
* South Carolina
* South Dakota
* Tennessee
* Texas
* Utah
* Vermont
* Virginia
* Washington
* West Virginia
* Wisconsin
* Wyoming

Lists by insular areas|

* American Samoa
* Guam
* Minor Outlying Islands
* Northern Mariana Islands
* Puerto Rico
* Virgin Islands

Lists by associated state|

* Federated States of Micronesia
* Marshall Islands
* Palau

Other areas|

* District of Columbia
* American Legation, Morocco

Related|

* National Historic Preservation Act
* Historic Preservation Fund
* List of jails and prisons on the National Register of Historic Places
* University and college buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places

* National Register of Historic Places portal
* Category

*[No.]: number
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template