Misplaced Pages

Angel Museum: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from[REDACTED] with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editContent deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 04:55, 14 May 2014 editYngvadottir (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users50,722 edits More from Tribune article on collection.← Previous edit Latest revision as of 05:22, 21 November 2024 edit undo2600:6c98:4740:bb:a4dd:aaba:f74:7419 (talk) Added that the Angel Museum contents and collection was sold by Beloit Auction Service, Inc. and the building repurposed by Visit Beloit.Tag: Visual edit 
(39 intermediate revisions by 23 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Infobox museum
]
| name = Angel Museum
| logo = File:Angel Museum Logo Beloit Wisconsin.png
| image =
| caption =
| map_type =
| former_name =
| established = {{Start date|1998|05|01|df=y}}
| dissolved = 29 September 2018
| location = 656 Pleasant St, ]
| collection_size = 13,600
| type = ]
| key_holdings = Oprah Winfrey Black Angel Collection
| publictransit = {{Bus icon}} ]
| website = {{URL|angelmuseum.org}}
}}


The '''Angel Museum''' in ], claims to have 6000 figurines of angels, with 6000 more at the home of the museum's collector, Joyce Berg. The museum is housed in the former St. Paul's Catholic Church,<ref name=Roadside>{{cite news|url=http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2240|title=Angel Museum, Beloit, Wisconsin|publisher=]|accessdate=14 May 2014}}</ref> and two concrete angels weighing 100&nbsp;lbs each stand in front of the building.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=860&dat=20010821&id=SzEfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=lccEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4776,7091751 |title=Odds and Ends: Beloit, Wis. |agency=Associated Press |newspaper=Ellensburg Daily Record |date=August 21, 2001 |page=8 }}</ref> It claims to have the largest private collection of angel figurines;<ref>{{cite book|last=Huhti|first=Thomas|title=Moon Wisconsin|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ZIQqAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA123|year=2014|publisher=Avalon Travel|isbn=9781612387116|page=123}}</ref> Berg's collection, {{As of|2006|07|lc=on}} numbering 13,406, was certified by the '']'' in 2001.<ref name=Trib/> For special visits to the museum, Berg sometimes wears an angel costume including cherub socks, angel ear-rings, a halo and wings.<ref name=Roadside/><ref name=Trib/> The '''Angel Museum''' was a museum in ] devoted to the collection and display of ] ]s.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.angelmuseum.org/|title=The Angel Museum|website=Angel Museum|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-17}}</ref><ref name="VisitBeloit">{{Citation|title=The Story of the Angel Museum|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCPknyc9bJ0|language=en|access-date=2019-08-18}}</ref> Founded in 1998, the museum was housed in the former St. Paul's Catholic Church along the ].<ref name=Roadside>{{cite news|url=http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2240|title=Angel Museum, Beloit, Wisconsin|publisher=]|accessdate=14 May 2014}}</ref> The museum closed its doors in 2018 due to insufficient funding.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/columnists/jim-stingl/2018/08/03/anyone-want-buy-12-000-angels-beloits-angel-museum-closing/898341002/|title=Stingl: Anyone want to buy 12,000 angels? Beloit's Angel Museum is closing after 20 years|last=Stingl|first=Jim|website=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel|language=en|access-date=2019-08-17}}</ref>

⚫ The museum is notable also for the Black Angel Collection, more than 1,000 donated by ]; Winfrey had asked in 1998 on her television show why there were no black angels, after which she was sent angel figurines from all over the country, which she donated to the Angel Museum.<ref name=Trib>{{cite news |url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2006-08-01/features/0608010380_1_angel-museum-joyce-berg-angel-earrings |last=Jones |first=Patrice M. |title=Angels in action |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=August 1, 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1906&dat=19970201&id=1gcxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MOEFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4324,1559694 |title=Oprah's angels to Beloit museum |agency=Associated Press |newspaper=The Fort Scott Tribune |date=February 1, 1997 |page=6 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Grzymkowski |first=Eric|title=The United States of Strange: 1,001 Frightening, Bizarre, Outrageous Facts About the Land of the Free and the Home of the Frog People, the Cockroach Hall of Fame, and Carhenge|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=SunVOXoIq8YC&pg=PA154|year=2012|publisher=Adams Media|isbn=9781440536144|page=154}}</ref> Others have also donated angels to the museum;<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=sel2taRTv9EC&pg=PA139&dq=%22angel+museum%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=_9FyU-flBq7hsATTiIK4Cg&ved=0CGUQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=%22angel%20museum%22&f=false |last=Schindler |first=Frances |title=An Angel at My Side: Surviving Leukemia Through Love |location=San Jose, California |publisher=Writers Club Press |year=2001 |isbn=9780595175994 |page=139 }}</ref> {{as of|2006|lc=yes}}, more than 1,000, some as memorials.<ref name=Trib/> The angels are from more than 60 countries and range in size from thimble dimensions to more than 5&nbsp;feet tall. In addition to porcelain, glass, copper, and acrylic, materials include lambskin, corn husks, tree roots, and spaghetti.<ref name=Trib/>


==History== ==History==


Joyce Berg, the founder of the museum, began collecting angels in 1976, first acquiring an Italian ] figurine of two angels on a ].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/greatlittlemuseu0000desg|url-access=registration|title=Great Little Museums of the Midwest|last=Des Garennes|first=Christine|publisher=Trails|year=2002|isbn=9781931599085|pages=–13}}</ref> By 1994, her collection was noticed by the '']'', who wrote about her under the headline, "Heavens above! Grandma's living with 10,455 angels."<ref name=":3" />
The museum's history goes back to 1995, when Joyce Berg ran out of room for her collection and looked for a space to house it. At the same time, Beloit's Catholic Church of St. Paul was threatened with demolition to make way for a new development. Berg chose the church, and with the help of hundreds of Beloit citizens the church was turned into a museum,<ref>{{cite book|last=Des Garennes|first=Christine |title=Great Little Museums of the Midwest|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=S0NZGwM-LA8C&pg=PA12|year=2002|publisher=Trails|isbn=9781931599085|pages=12–13}}</ref> which opened on May 1, 1998.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1346&dat=20021212&id=pzZOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=uv0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=4032,2027240 |title=Angels on Earth: By Housing World's Largest Angel Museum, Church Spared Destruction |agency=Associated Press |last=Antlfinger |first=Carrie |newspaper=Lakeland Ledger |date=December 12, 2002 |pages=D3, D5 }}</ref>

The museum itself was first conceived in 1995{{Refn|group=note|Other accounts have placed the conception of the museum at earlier dates. Berg claimed it was 1993 in a 2018 interview<ref name="VisitBeloit">{{Citation|title=The Story of the Angel Museum|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCPknyc9bJ0|language=en|access-date=2019-08-18}}</ref> and Antlfinger wrote it was 1994 in a 2002 article.<ref name="Lakeland">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1346&dat=20021212&id=pzZOAAAAIBAJ&pg=4032,2027240|title=Angels on Earth: By Housing World's Largest Angel Museum, Church Spared Destruction|last=Antlfinger|first=Carrie|date=December 12, 2002|newspaper=Lakeland Ledger|agency=Associated Press|pages=D3, D5}}</ref>}} when Berg ran out of room for her collection and began seeking a new place to house it. Around the same time, Beloit's St. Paul's Catholic Church was being threatened with demolition to make way for a new development. Berg chose the church, and with the help of Beloit citizens the church was converted into a museum.<ref name=":1" /><ref name="Trib" /> It opened on May 1, 1998, with an annual rent of $1 to the City of Beloit.<ref name="Lakeland">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1346&dat=20021212&id=pzZOAAAAIBAJ&pg=4032,2027240|title=Angels on Earth: By Housing World's Largest Angel Museum, Church Spared Destruction|last=Antlfinger|first=Carrie|date=December 12, 2002|newspaper=Lakeland Ledger|agency=Associated Press|pages=D3, D5}}</ref> For special visits to the museum, Berg sometimes wore an angel costume including cherub socks, angel earrings, a halo and wings.<ref name="Roadside" /><ref name="Trib" />

The museum closed in 2018 after being open 20 years. In a letter to the community, the museum's board of trustees wrote: "We do not have sufficient funds, memberships, corporate sponsors, or volunteers to staff and operate the museum." The museum's collections were auctioned in October 2018 through Beloit Auction & Realty Inc.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.beloitauction.com/auctions/detail/online-auction-of-the-angel-museum-bw30941|title=Online Auction of The Angel Museum {{!}} Beloit Auction and Realty|website=www.beloitauction.com|language=en|access-date=2019-08-17}}</ref> In 2019, the City of Beloit had made plans to convert St. Paul's Catholic Church into an event venue.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wrex.com/category/2019/08/02/economic-resurgence-spawns-new-projects-for-beloit/|title=Economic resurgence spawns new projects for Beloit|date=2019-08-03|website=WREX|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-17}}</ref>

==Collections==
The Angel Museum claimed to have the largest private collection of angel figurines,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZIQqAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA123|title=Moon Wisconsin|last=Huhti|first=Thomas|publisher=Avalon Travel|year=2014|isbn=9781612387116|page=123}}</ref> and the museum's collection was cited by the '']'' in 2001 as the largest of its kind.<ref name="Trib" /> By December 2008, the collection numbered over 13,600,<ref name="Beloit">{{cite web|url=http://www.beloit.edu/campus/spaces/?story_id=345808|title=Downhill from campus, an angelic place|website=Beloit.edu|publisher=Beloit|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812130430/http://www.beloit.edu/campus/spaces/?story_id=345808|archive-date=2014-08-12|accessdate=2014-06-30}}</ref> with approximately 10,000 on display in the museum on permanent loan from Berg.<ref name="Trib" /> The angels are from more than 60 countries and range in size from thimble dimensions to more than {{convert|5|ft}} tall. In addition to porcelain, glass, copper, and acrylic, materials include lambskin, ]s, tree roots, and spaghetti.<ref name="Trib" /> Two concrete angels weighing {{convert|100|lb}} each stand in front of the building.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=860&dat=20010821&id=SzEfAAAAIBAJ&pg=4776,7091751|title=Odds and Ends: Beloit, Wis.|date=August 21, 2001|newspaper=Ellensburg Daily Record|agency=Associated Press|page=8}}</ref>

⚫ The museum was also notable for having housed ]'s collection of 571 black angel figurines.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" />{{refn|group=note|Some sources indicate Winfrey's donation later exceeded 1,000 figurines.<ref name="Trib" />}} During a 1997 episode of the ], Winfrey told ] that black angel figurines were difficult to find. Winfrey's fans then began sending her figurines in significant numbers, and Winfrey had to ask her fans to stop.<ref name=":2" /> Winfrey donated her collection to the Angel Museum later in 1997, shortly before the museum was set to open.<ref name="Trib">{{cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2006/08/01/angels-in-action/ |last=Jones |first=Patrice M. |title=Angels in action |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=August 1, 2006 }}</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1906&dat=19970201&id=1gcxAAAAIBAJ&pg=4324,1559694 |title=Oprah's angels to Beloit museum |agency=Associated Press |newspaper=The Fort Scott Tribune |date=February 1, 1997 |page=6 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Grzymkowski |first=Eric|title=The United States of Strange: 1,001 Frightening, Bizarre, Outrageous Facts About the Land of the Free and the Home of the Frog People, the Cockroach Hall of Fame, and Carhenge|url=https://archive.org/details/unitedstatesofst0000grzy|url-access=registration |year=2012|publisher=Adams Media|isbn=9781440536144|page=}}</ref> Others had donated angels to the museum as well, often as memorials to loved ones.<ref name="Trib" /><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sel2taRTv9EC&pg=PA139|title=An Angel at My Side: Surviving Leukemia Through Love|last=Schindler|first=Frances|publisher=Writers Club Press|year=2001|isbn=9780595175994|location=San Jose, California|page=139}}</ref>

In 2018, Beloit Auction Service, Inc. sold the contents of the Angel Museum including the world famous Berg Angel Collection. The Visit Beloit organization has since repurposed the building.

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}


==References== ==References==
{{Reflist}} {{reflist}}


==External links== ==External links==
*{{official|http:wwww.angelmuseum.com}} *{{official website|http://www.angelmuseum.org}}
*

]
]
]
]
]
]
]

Latest revision as of 05:22, 21 November 2024

Private museum in Beloit, Wisconsin
Angel Museum
Established1 May 1998 (1998-05-01)
Dissolved29 September 2018
Location656 Pleasant St, Beloit, Wisconsin
TypePrivate museum
Key holdingsOprah Winfrey Black Angel Collection
Collection size13,600
Public transit accessBus transport Beloit Transit
Websiteangelmuseum.org

The Angel Museum was a museum in Beloit, Wisconsin devoted to the collection and display of angel figurines. Founded in 1998, the museum was housed in the former St. Paul's Catholic Church along the Rock River. The museum closed its doors in 2018 due to insufficient funding.

History

Joyce Berg, the founder of the museum, began collecting angels in 1976, first acquiring an Italian bisque figurine of two angels on a seesaw. By 1994, her collection was noticed by the National Enquirer, who wrote about her under the headline, "Heavens above! Grandma's living with 10,455 angels."

The museum itself was first conceived in 1995 when Berg ran out of room for her collection and began seeking a new place to house it. Around the same time, Beloit's St. Paul's Catholic Church was being threatened with demolition to make way for a new development. Berg chose the church, and with the help of Beloit citizens the church was converted into a museum. It opened on May 1, 1998, with an annual rent of $1 to the City of Beloit. For special visits to the museum, Berg sometimes wore an angel costume including cherub socks, angel earrings, a halo and wings.

The museum closed in 2018 after being open 20 years. In a letter to the community, the museum's board of trustees wrote: "We do not have sufficient funds, memberships, corporate sponsors, or volunteers to staff and operate the museum." The museum's collections were auctioned in October 2018 through Beloit Auction & Realty Inc. In 2019, the City of Beloit had made plans to convert St. Paul's Catholic Church into an event venue.

Collections

The Angel Museum claimed to have the largest private collection of angel figurines, and the museum's collection was cited by the Guinness Book of World Records in 2001 as the largest of its kind. By December 2008, the collection numbered over 13,600, with approximately 10,000 on display in the museum on permanent loan from Berg. The angels are from more than 60 countries and range in size from thimble dimensions to more than 5 feet (1.5 m) tall. In addition to porcelain, glass, copper, and acrylic, materials include lambskin, corn husks, tree roots, and spaghetti. Two concrete angels weighing 100 pounds (45 kg) each stand in front of the building.

The museum was also notable for having housed Oprah Winfrey's collection of 571 black angel figurines. During a 1997 episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show, Winfrey told Cher that black angel figurines were difficult to find. Winfrey's fans then began sending her figurines in significant numbers, and Winfrey had to ask her fans to stop. Winfrey donated her collection to the Angel Museum later in 1997, shortly before the museum was set to open. Others had donated angels to the museum as well, often as memorials to loved ones.

In 2018, Beloit Auction Service, Inc. sold the contents of the Angel Museum including the world famous Berg Angel Collection. The Visit Beloit organization has since repurposed the building.

Notes

  1. Other accounts have placed the conception of the museum at earlier dates. Berg claimed it was 1993 in a 2018 interview and Antlfinger wrote it was 1994 in a 2002 article.
  2. Some sources indicate Winfrey's donation later exceeded 1,000 figurines.

References

  1. ^ "The Angel Museum". Angel Museum. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
  2. ^ The Story of the Angel Museum, retrieved 2019-08-18
  3. ^ "Angel Museum, Beloit, Wisconsin". Roadside America.com. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  4. ^ Stingl, Jim. "Stingl: Anyone want to buy 12,000 angels? Beloit's Angel Museum is closing after 20 years". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
  5. ^ Des Garennes, Christine (2002). Great Little Museums of the Midwest. Trails. pp. 12–13. ISBN 9781931599085.
  6. ^ Antlfinger, Carrie (December 12, 2002). "Angels on Earth: By Housing World's Largest Angel Museum, Church Spared Destruction". Lakeland Ledger. Associated Press. pp. D3, D5.
  7. ^ Jones, Patrice M. (August 1, 2006). "Angels in action". Chicago Tribune.
  8. "Online Auction of The Angel Museum | Beloit Auction and Realty". www.beloitauction.com. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
  9. "Economic resurgence spawns new projects for Beloit". WREX. 2019-08-03. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
  10. Huhti, Thomas (2014). Moon Wisconsin. Avalon Travel. p. 123. ISBN 9781612387116.
  11. "Downhill from campus, an angelic place". Beloit.edu. Beloit. Archived from the original on 2014-08-12. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  12. "Odds and Ends: Beloit, Wis". Ellensburg Daily Record. Associated Press. August 21, 2001. p. 8.
  13. ^ "Oprah's angels to Beloit museum". The Fort Scott Tribune. Associated Press. February 1, 1997. p. 6.
  14. Grzymkowski, Eric (2012). The United States of Strange: 1,001 Frightening, Bizarre, Outrageous Facts About the Land of the Free and the Home of the Frog People, the Cockroach Hall of Fame, and Carhenge. Adams Media. p. 154. ISBN 9781440536144.
  15. Schindler, Frances (2001). An Angel at My Side: Surviving Leukemia Through Love. San Jose, California: Writers Club Press. p. 139. ISBN 9780595175994.

External links

Categories:
Angel Museum: Difference between revisions Add topic