 It was allegedly during this fire that a fireman by the name of Johnny Denham killed an escaped tiger with his ax before rushing into the burning building and carrying out a 400-pound woman on his shoulders.Barnum's New Museum opened September 6, 1865, at 539-41 Broadway, but that also burned down, on March 3, 1868.It was after this that Barnum moved on to politics and the circus industry.