29. Marshall Campus

The neighborhood known collectively as Marshall Campus includes the Newcastle Museum of Science & Astronomy, the Newcastle Aquarium, the Marshall-Mitchell Museum of Natural History, the Kirby House (a museum of local & state history) and the Atwater Homestead (one of the oldest surviving original settlements in the area). The neighborhood also includes a few corporate-sponsored attraction-museums, such as an automobile museum and an advertising museum. It’s mostly a quiet neighborhood, with an occasional high-profile crime linked to something valuable taken from the museum’s collections or an embezzling curator. The residential neighborhood, with apartment complexes and small enclaves of houses surrounding the museum campus, is moderately affordable.

Background

The neighborhood that became the Marshall Campus was originally the fairgrounds for the State Fair. After the State Fair fund ran bankrupt for seven consecutive years, the fairgrounds were purchased by a private investor, Virginia Marshall, who developed the land as an affordable venue for state-run and non-profit organizations. Today the land is managed by her grandson’s trust, and he’s shown every indication that he’s willing to sell it as soon as his trust matures.

Alternative Name(s)

Museum

Type

District

Location under

New Castle