In downtown Appleton, Wisconsin, across College Avenue from Lawrence University, this local history museum occupies the former Masonic Temple, built in 1923 and later adapted by the Outagamie County Historical Society after the Waverly Masonic Lodge sold the building in 1985. Also known at times as The Outagamie Museum and The Houdini Historic Center, it preserves the history of Appleton and the Fox River Valley through artifacts from the 1840s onward. Its most notable holdings include original Harry Houdini materials, artifacts related to Senator Joe McCarthy, and about 35,000 photographs dating back to 1857. In 2018, it received the National Medal for Museum and Library Service.