History

he Higgins Armory Museum is a nonprofit educational institution that presents the history of arms and armor in a broad cultural context. The Museum achieves its mission by preserving, researching, exhibiting, and interpreting its collections for the benefit of the general public and specialized audiences.

The Higgins Armory Museum evolved from a private collection of arms and armor from medieval and Renaissance Europe, Feudal Japan and ancient Greece and Rome into a world-renowned museum. The founder, John Woodman Higgins, a leading Worcester industrialist, spent a lifetime building his collection. In 1929, he constructed a four-story building to house it, and in the same year, received a charter for a museum of historical and modern metal artifacts.

The Armory's collection, displayed in a Gothic castle setting is extensive. The European portion consists of 3,000 armors and components, 1,000 weapons and accessories, 500 swords and daggers; 100 firearms; a tapestry, stained glass, paintings, and wood carvings. In addition, the non-Western collection comprises 1,000 African, Islamic, Indian, and Japanese body defenses and arms. The four-story art deco Museum was one of the first all steel and glass curtain-wall structures built in America, and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. On John Higgins' death in 1961, the building, collections and an endowment were given to the public.

In 1979 the Museum passed out of the hands of the Higgins family and into the control of a public governing board. The Board revised the original mission statement, hired its first professional director, and set out to create a new presence in the museum world, thereby asserting its claim to greater public support. The museum qualified for IRS 501(c)(3) status in 1980.

In 1984 a long-range plan was developed to renovate the facility. A capital campaign, which raised $2.1 million, helped to upgrade the physical plant, renovate exhibitions, and increase the endowment.

Increased use of the collections led the Trustees to determine in 1989 that a capital campaign was necessary to complete a series of projects envisioned since 1984. An orientation theater, a classroom and a traveling exhibits gallery were constructed; the Museum's Great Hall was equipped with a climate control system; and the curatorial areas were renovated. These improvements were made possible by a successful $2.8 million campaign that was completed in 1991. The museum was first accredited by the American Association of Museums in 1972, and was reaccredited in 1985 and 1994.