Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Pinal Airpark
Note the chrysanthemum crests.
Hachiman Bridge
Clarendon War Memorial.
Clarendon War Memorial
This fried chicken is one of Bangkok’s most famous.
Gai Tord Jae Kee
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
This fried chicken is one of Bangkok’s most famous.
Gai Tord Jae Kee
Chefs Aruss Lerlerstkull and Atcharaporn Kiatthanawat lean into regional traditions.
Charmgang
The khao soi at Gedhawa comes with a rich, coconutty broth.
Gedhawa
At Nai Mong Hoi Thod, the oyster omelet is worth waiting for.
Nai Mong Hoi Thod
In this deceptively simple dish, top-quality ingredients are paramount.
Kor Panich
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States Ohio Mansfield Mansfield Memorial Museum

Mansfield Memorial Museum

The permanent home of Elektro, the celebrity automaton of the 1939 World's Fair.

Mansfield, Ohio

Added By
Allison Meier
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
Elektro the Robot   Mansfield Tourism
Mansfield Memorial Museum   Wikimedia
Well-dressed badger taxidermy   Mansfield Tourism
Curious taxidermy   Mansfield Tourism
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Back at the 1939 World's Fair in New York, Elektro the robot caused as stir as a technological wonder. But his popularity eventually waned with the introduction of fancier robots and other marvels in the mid-20th century and Elektro was dismantled and disappeared. Now he's been resurrected and is on permanent display at the Mansfield Memorial Museum, not far from where he was built at the Westinghouse facility in Mansfield.

Elektro could smoke, talk, and walk, all controlled with voice commands. The golden automaton was so popular that he returned for the 1940 World's Fair and then toured the country as a promotional tool for Westinghouse. However, his casual smoking, calling people "Toots," and tired jokes eventually made him seem dated, not to mention that new innovations had made him obsolete. 

When he was dismantled, his exact whereabouts became lost. But then his head was found packed away in a box and eventually his body turned up in a barn. Now he's back to his imposing seven-foot height and standing in the Mansfield Memorial Museum.

The museum was founded in 1889 and has an incredibly eclectic two floors of displays. These include Native American, Roman, African, Asian, military, and natural history artifacts, as well as an exhibition on airplanes. There is also an exceptionally odd display of taxidermy with weird creature mash-ups and anthropomorphic creations. 

Related Tags

Museums And Collections World's Fair Museums Robots Retro Tech Amazing Automata

Know Before You Go

This museum is closed until further notice.

Community Contributors

Added By

Allison

Edited By

jenlukehart, claracecile

  • jenlukehart
  • claracecile

Published

March 21, 2013

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://www.mansfieldtourism.com/what-to-do/attractions/mansfield-memorial-museum
Mansfield Memorial Museum
34 Park Avenue West
Mansfield, Ohio, 44902
United States
40.758664, -82.510466
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Ohio State Reformatory

Mansfield, Ohio

miles away

The Shawshank Trail

Mansfield, Ohio

miles away

BibleWalk Wax Museum

Mansfield, Ohio

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Mansfield

Mansfield

Ohio

Places 4

Nearby Places

Ohio State Reformatory

Mansfield, Ohio

miles away

The Shawshank Trail

Mansfield, Ohio

miles away

BibleWalk Wax Museum

Mansfield, Ohio

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Mansfield

Mansfield

Ohio

Places 4

Related Stories and Lists

The Sensational Return of a Smoking, Walking, Talking World's Fair Robot

robots

By Allison Meier

Related Places

  • Kiosks on display.

    Stoke Heath, England

    National Telephone Kiosk Collection

    An ode to the classic piece of British street furniture.

  • Mausoleum with Statue

    Canton, Ohio

    McKinley Presidential Library & Museum

    Mausoleums, astronomy, and animatronic dinosaurs at this memorial to an assassinated American president.

  • Vintage D. Gottlieb & Co. game

    Asheville, North Carolina

    Asheville Pinball Museum

    This North Carolina museum is keeping the pinball craze alive, with a little Space Invaders on the side.

  • Persu, Duesenberg, some tractor-looking thing

    Bucharest, Romania

    Dimitrie Leonida Technical Museum

    Check out engineering marvels of the past at this unintentionally retrofuturist museum.

  • Shattuck, Oklahoma

    Shattuck Windmill Museum

    Over 50 historic windmills whir away at this outdoor museum.

  • Diving suit by the Carmagnolle brothers from 1882

    Paris, France

    Musée National de la Marine

    Museum on French naval history, with magnificent figureheads, a historic diving suit, and a boat used by Napoleon.

  • Exhibit in the Zeppelin Museum

    Friedrichshafen, Germany

    Zeppelin Museum

    Enter the cabin of a life-sized Hindenburg replica.

  • Asbury Park, New Jersey

    Silverball Museum Arcade

    A reservoir of vintage pinball machines and arcade games for the nostalgic and thrill seeking.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.