Higgins Armory Museum

Once a private collection, now the only museum of arms and armor in the Western Hemisphere

Category Unique Collections

Unique Collections http://atlasobscura.com/category/museums-and-collections/unique-collections

The Higgins Armoury Museum is set within an Art Deco pseudo-castle. Decked out with tall flags, it can be seen from the nearby highway.

Inside, the Higgins is larger than it appears from the outside and full of myriad pieces of armor and weaponry from all over the world, including much from feudal Japan, Renaissance Europe, and ancient Greece and Rome. There are even pieces for you to try on.

Perhaps the item that most catches visitors' eyes is the model of a dog wearing a suit of 16th-century German doggy armor. Armored dogs were often used to protect caravans.

If the armor doesn't catch your eye, the building will. Made of steel and glass, the uniquely odd architecture is completely different inside and out. While outside it's a cold monolith, inside the Higgins resembles a great hall or church. It was designed and built by John Woodman Higgins, a businessman and owner of the Worcester Pressed Steel Company, in 1927. Obsessed with steel and in love with the history of its craft, Higgins refereed to his museum as "a temple of steelcraft."

In addition to housing a first-rate collection of arms and armor, the Higgins also hosts annual events, such as the Renaissance Fair.

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Users who like this place: wdarling A Facebook user AimiColeman

Users who have been to this place: wdarling A Facebook user Raychael A Facebook user AimiColeman

  • Hours Tue-Sat: 10:00-4; Sun: 12-4
  • Website Higgins Armory Museum
  • Address 100 Barber Avenue, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States
  • Cost Adults (age 17 to 59) $10.00 Children (age 4 to 16) $7.00 Children age 3 and under, free
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Comments

  • wythe& wythe February 3, 2010
    For much more on cat, mouse, and dog armor: http://www.webofentertainment.com/2009/12/your-cat-and-mouse-wants-full-suit-of.html For a haute-styling/conceptual new approach to feudal Japanese o-yoroi (full plate armor): http://pinktentacle.com/2010/01/chanel-samurai-armor/
  • & Anonymous January 31, 2010
    when viewed on my google reader, this post's location reads as: United Kingdom, Europe | Unique Collections This should be updated to Worcester, MA USA