Barnum's New American Museum
539 Broadway, New York, NY
Demolished
1868
ABOUT THIS THEATRE
Buckley's Opera House
Chinese Rooms
Description
Originally known as the Chinese Rooms. In 1853, it was leased to Buckley's Serenaders, a famous minstrel troupe, and became known as Buckley's Opera House. In 1862, the Concert Hall Act prohibited the sale of liquor in a theatre and the venue closed. It reopened in 1865, P.T. Barnum took over after his American Museum burned down. But Barnum's New American Museum did not last long; in 1868, it, too, was destroyed by fire, leading to the showman's retirement.