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Barnum (which sits less than a couple miles from the Freeman Houses) has currently attracted new visitors
due to the film The Greatest Showman which released in the United States in 2017. As P.T. Barnum was also
involved in the development of Little Liberia, providing jobs and income to many of the residents, his connection
to the Freeman Houses highlights its significance – especially to incoming tourists.
“P.T. Barnum Museum” – photo from Sante Fe NM
CONTEMPORARY VALUE
The houses were predominantly neglected and ignored until Charles Brilvitch began researching the houses
in the 1980s and found them in bad condition, taking careful records and photos. They were added to the
National Register of Historic Places in 1999 but almost ten years later were scheduled for demolition.
The community fought back, informed City Hall with a petition to its significance, and managed to save the
site from total destruction. Within the past several years, there has been gradually more attention and effort to
raise money and restore the houses.
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