Higgins Armory Museum

Infobox nrhp
name = Higgins Armory Museum
nrhp_type =


caption = Higgins Armory Museum
lat_degrees =
lat_minutes =
lat_seconds =
lat_direction =
long_degrees =
long_minutes =
long_seconds =
long_direction =
location =100 Barber Ave.
Worcester, Massachusetts
nearest_city =
area =
built =
architect =
architecture =
designated =
added = March 5, 1980
established =
visitation_num =
visitation_year =
refnum = 80000514
mpsub = Worcester MRA
governing_body =

Higgins Armory Museum, located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is a "national treasure," [ [http://www.catalogueforphilanthropy.org/cfp/2002/higgins_armory_687.htm cfp-ma.org: Higgins Armory Museum - Catalogue for Philanthropy: MASSACHUSETTS ] ] a public, non-profit museum specializing in the history of arms and armor. John Woodman Higgins built a unique steel and glass structure to house his collection of armor, one of the largest such collections in the world. Currently, the museum features thousands of pieces from the ancient military traditions of Western Europe, Ancient Rome, Feudal Japan, and beyond. One of the largest arms and armor collections in the world with over 80 suits of armor spanning the Medieval to renaissance and early modern periods.

The Museum features important Classical world collections including one of three gladiator helmets in the hemisphere, bronze Homeric swords,and a war hammer from the Medieval period. In the dramatically arranged halls of armor, full suits of Japanese Samurai armor stand in splendid contrast with parade armor from the Renaissance. A magnificent early Renaissance/late Medieval Spetum is one of the prides of the collection, which also features a firearm commissioned by Catherine the Great of Russia for her grandson Grand Duke (later Tsar) Alexander I of Russia. Many visitors, however, are especially drawn to the small suits of armor worn by very young princes, the armored dog, and the armored horses displayed on full-scale models.

Higgins Armory is the largest collection of Medieval Arms and Armor outside of Europe

History

The Museum was founded by John Woodman Higgins in 1927. The building was purpose-built in the Art Deco-style, and is the first free standing glass and steel frame structure of its type to be built in the United States. The Museum has been accredited by the American Association of Museums since the 1970s.

By 1980, the museum was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, under the management of a public Governing Board. By 1994, the Board, with the help of two multi-million-dollar fund-raising campaigns, modernized the facility in adding accessibility to the disabled, a new climate control systems, new exhibits, and new educational facilities.

External links

* [http://www.higgins.org/ Higgins Armory Museum website]
* [http://www.higginssword.org/ Higgins Armory Sword Guild website]
* [http://www.myarmoury.com/feature_higgins.html Three Swords from the Higgins Armory Museum] (myArmoury.com article)
* [http://www.myarmoury.com/feature_higgins_vik.html A Sword from the Late Viking Age from the Higgins Museum] (myArmoury.com article)
* [http://www.myarmoury.com/feature_higgins_pole.html A Poleaxe from the Higgins Armory Museum] (myArmoury.com article)

ources

The John Woodman Higgins Armory (Higgins Armory Museum), John H. Beeler, Military Affairs, Vol. 49, No. 4 (Oct., 1985), pp. 198-202

References