Today’s New York Times profiles swordswallower/prestidigitator Johnny Fox, proprietor of the recently-closed Freakatorium, a cabinet of curiosities in New York City’s Lower East Side. From the New York Times (photo by Douglas Healey):
In January, Mr. Fox’s rent went up and he had to close. Now he has moved his wonders to a farmhouse in Connecticut where the only thing they collect these days is dust. His narwhal tusks stand in the attic near a loose pile of taxidermic heads. His elephant’s-foot liquor chest sits in the living room, seen by no one but himself.
His two-headed turtle lives downstairs in the basement with a sleepy boa constrictor. Out in the garage – forgotten – are Tom Thumb’s vest and Sammy Davis Jr.’s glass eye.
“I’d love for this stuff to be in New York,” said Mr. Fox, a sinewy and black-haired man of 52. “New York needs this kind of stuff, but who supports it anymore?”
It is a hard question to answer. Mr. Fox discovered that his Freakatorium was not the tourist destination he had hoped it would be. Even with its relatively modest $5 admission fee, it drew only 5 to 15 visitors a day….
He has even thought of changing the roguish name of his establishment to cater to a different clientele.
“I figured we could call it the Chamber of Wonders, not the Freak-atorium,” he said. “Freak sometimes has a stigma to it. We could do something family-inviting.”
Even at its height, the Freakatorium was never meant to be a profit center. It was rather Mr. Fox’s chance to earn a living while sharing his obsessions with the world.
