Disneyland Emporium- Barber

Not as noticeable as the true animatronic figures that are found elsewhere in Disneyland, the Main Street Emporium houses a few scenes of (almost) static figures. One of which is the tableaux of a boy reluctantly getting his hair cut by this over eager Barber. Notice the Christmas garland hanging on the wall, and how it magically disappears in one of the shots. Hmmm.

The poor boy acts as if there is a razor, and not a comb, in the Barbers hand. But who can blame the child, Haircuts are second only to Dentist visits when it comes to uncomfortable appointments.

Another angle continues to capture the fear in the boy's face. The whole scenario is quite amusing.

Tags: Disneyland Main Street Emporium Barber Animatronic Figure

National Wax Museum of Lancaster County Heritage- Benjamin Franklin

In my first post in over a month, here's some shots from what has now become one of my favorite defunct wax museums. This scene shows Benjamin Franklin buying Conestoga wagons from local blacksmiths in the Lancaster area. Franklin, who is a wax museum staple, looks much the way he always seems to, with his glasses and long hair. Dorfman Museum Figures did a great job with their Franklin figure.

Here's a full shot of the figure from the auction. It's so sad to see it with a price tag.

A blacksmith figure. I wonder if it moved up and down, or if it was static?

The second figure sported a stylish bandanna.

A cool interactive element of this set was the bellows people could pump to cause the coals to burn. Very similar it seems to Tarzan's Treehouse at Disneyland.

A sign explaining the bellows.

A partial wagon that appears complete. Creativity in budgeting at its very best.

A wide view of the entire set. What a great place this must have been!

A cool sign describing the set. Most, if not all of the sets contained these plaques.

The entire set sold at auction for $4100. A bit steep for a private collector. Maybe they planned on reusing the set someplace else in Lancaster County.

Except for the first picture, all photos are from Jennings Auction Group.

Tags: Discover Lancaster Lancaster County Wax Museum Wax Figure Amish Benjamin Franklin

Turn of the Century Wax Museum- Lon Chaney

(1883-1930)

With Halloween just two days away, here's another moderately scary image from another defunct wax museum. The Old Town Mall in Torrance California once housed this small museum dedicated to early Twentieth Century. Lon Chaney kneels as Quasimodo, the Hunchback of Notre Dame. The wax museum doesn't seem as cheap as I have heard people remember it. I am too young to have ever experienced it, yet the few pictures I've seen are, like this one, simple yet detailed.

A closer view. This figure is actually pretty freaky looking. I could imagine a kid back in 1973 being fairly afraid of this figure. The hairy chest alone could do it.

View more information on Lon Chaney here.

Tags: Turn of the Century Wax Museum Wax Figure Lon Chaney Hunchback

News- Notorious B.I.G. Shoots Into Madame Tussaud's

Madame Tussaud's New York unveiled a new figure Thursday. This new statue is of former rapper Chris Wallace. The figure is quite amazing, and shows off the excess and extravagance that the rapper was so proud of. Although the face looks half asleep, the detail is exceptional.

They got the "toughness" level just right.

It might seem kind of creepy making a figure of a dead guy who is most famous for dying in a silly east coast, west coast "rap war", but it is Halloween time after all.

Although Wallace was very successful, I guess Madame Tussaud's couldn't find a picture of him smiling for their sculptor.

Visit the Madame Tussaud's website here.

Tags: Madame Tussauds Wax Museum Wax Figure Wax Biggie Smalls Chris Wallace

Denver Wax Museum- Colorado Maneater Alfred Packer

(1842-1907)

Happy Halloween season! And to keep with the spirit, here's a shot of Alfred Packer, the Colorado Maneater. Although there was some controversy to whether he murdered the men he ate, or ate them out of necessity, this is still a pretty gruesome scene. Imagine walking through the historic scenes of the Denver Wax Museum and seeing this guy with his bloody bones.

The look in this figure's eyes is enough to scare most people. Funny how starvation makes you do crazy things.

Not only was Alfred Packer a Cannibal, he was a very hungry cannibal at that. These men had their bones picked clean!

All Denver Wax Museum entries here.

View more information on Alfred Packer here.

Tags: Denver Wax Museum Wax Figure Wax Alfred Packer

Palace of Living Art- David

A recent news story was published this week that reveals where the new home of the giant statue of David that once guarded the Palace of Living Art will be. The statue found its way to the Ripley's Believe it or Not! museum in St. Augustine Florida, and will be missed by everyone who visited the late great Movieland Wax Museum. This vintage postcard shows the statue with a bit more covering than it usually has. The leaf is a nice touch!

This shot shows the statue shortly before the auction in 2006. It continued to watch over the empty building after the museum closed. The developers who planned on remodelling the property bought the statue at auction for $120,000! Unfortunately, the plans fell through and David was without a home.

David in the buff. He will be unveiled at his new home on November 2nd.

Amazing craftsmanship went into this recreation.

A night shot shows the perfect man. He must be cold up there.

Read the article about David's move here.

Visit the Palace of Living Art in San Fransisco here.

Tags: Palace of Living Art Wax Museum Michelangelo David Statue

Hollywood Wax Museum- Dracula

In honor of the season, here's a shot of Bela Lugosi (1882-1956) as Dracula from the Hollywood Wax Museum. This figure is very detailed, and the likeness is quite remarkable. The only down side is how a very disrespectful museum guest broke off the figure's finger. The wax figure stands eerily close to visitors, and the bars which protect him don't actually provide much protection.

Visit the Hollywood Wax Museum website here.

Tags: Hollywood Wax Museum Wax Figure Wax Bela Lugosi Dracula

Madame Tussaud's D.C. Opens

On October 4th, Madame Tussaud's Washington D.C. opened to the public, and the world has one more historically themed wax museum. Although their numbers are dwindling, historically themed wax museums once populated this great country of ours with scenes of Lincoln's assassination, recreations of the Alamo, and views of astronauts . In recent years. . . not so much.

Washington D.C. is across the country for many of us, but for those who are lucky enough, realistic recreations of famous politicians (and a few celebrities) await them at Madame Tussaud's!

Visit the Madame Tussaud's D.C. website here.

Tags: Madame Tussauds Washington DC Wax Museum Wax Figure Wax

American Heritage Wax Museum- Exterior

This old postcard shows the exterior of the American Heritage Wax Museum in Scottsdale Arizona. The cars give away the era this photo was taken in. Like so many other wax museums, the American Heritage Wax Museum focused on the historically significant events that shaped American history. I believe the building is still around, but the museum is long gone. Although I don't have much information on when it closed.

View more information, and take another look at this picture here.

Previous entries.

Tags: American Heritage Wax Museum Scottsdale Arizona

News- Master Chief Figure Fires way into Madame Tussaud's

This week, Madame Tussaud's Las Vegas unveiled a new figure based on the character Master Chief from the Halo Video game series. I've never played the game, but many people I know have, and it is quite popular. Here we see Pete Wentz from the band Fall Out Boy posing with the figure. Halo 3 is being released and this publicity stunt honors it.

Just pull the trigger please, I beg you!


A better view of the figure shows its great detail. They claim that this is the first time a video game character has been immortalized at Madame Tussaud's. I guess they don't count Michael Jackson.


A close up of Master Chief.


A work in progress shot of the figure.

Visit the Madame Tussaud's website here.

Tags: Madame Tussauds Wax Museum Wax Figure Wax Halo Master Chief

WDW-Fort Langhorn: Blacksmith pt 2

Here's some video of the blacksmith at Fort Langhorn. Sometimes pictures just don't always do the job. It also gives a feel of how the whole scene works.

These are realistic looking fake horses. Walt Disney World really surprised me with how well crafted there animatronics were.

The exterior of the Blacksmith. The building isn't real wood like Fort Wilderness was.

Just a close up. The fake ferns are blocking the sign, unfortunately.

Visit the Walt Disney World website here.

Disney World Fort Langhorn Blacksmith Mark Twain

WDW-Fort Langhorn: Blacksmith pt 1

Walt Disney world hasn't converted their Tom Sawyer Island into Pirate's Lair (At least not yet), so many of the unique and wonderful aspects of Mark Twain's beloved world remain. Fort Wilderness may be gone, but Fort Langhorn continues to entertain park guests looking for their Americana fix. Here we see the blacksmith shop inside the fort. Two calvary men are working hard making horseshoes. These partially animatronic figures give movement to the otherwise frozen in time Fort Langhorn.

Looking through the window betrays a shadowy figure hard at work.

On the far side of the display is a hen which can often be heard clucking in her pen.

A close up of the lone chicken.


The sign that calls all to enter and explore the fort.

Visit the Walt Disney World website here.

Disney World Fort Langhorn Blacksmith Mark Twain

Next Time: A little more Langhorne.

Movieland Wax Museum-Langdon and Turpin

In what is described by Movieland Wax Museum as a typical setting, we see Harry Langdon (1884-1944) and Ben Turpin (1864-1940). They never starred in movies together, yet Movieland put them together in this unusual scene. Langdon is on they left, and Turpin is on the right (For those of you who didn't already know, and that's probably most everyone).

As you can see, the scrim makes taking pictures very difficult. This photograph is from the auction, and I can't remember if they had the snow on when Movieland closed. Wow, a whole wax museum scene in such a small space. I guess they know how to utilize every bit of space.

The clapboard sign. The wax facts says: "Ben Turpin's crossed eyes were insured for $25,000 in 1925. More pies hit his face than any other man in movie history." And most people have never heard of him. His wax figure sold for a mere $850 at the Movieland auction. Langdon's sold for even less, at $500. The small set sold for only $125. Even I could have afforded it, if I had paid the $300 fee to enter the auction.

View the filmography of Harry Langdon here.

View the filmography of Ben Turpin here.

Tags: Movieland Wax Museum Wax Figure Wax Ben Turpin Harry Langdon

Hollywood Wax Museum- Shirley Temple

Here's a vintage picture from the Hollywood Wax Museum showing Shirley Temple as a child. The reason I'm posting this shot is because my wife and I were playing twenty question while in line for the Submarine Voyage at Disneyland and she chose Shirley Temple as her subject. I guessed it when I realized she had picked a classic movie Star. Shirley Temple is well known for her movies where she would sing and dance with grown men. Many of here movies had the world "little" in the title. I suppose that's to emphasize how small and childish she was. I wish I had a bigger picture that showed more if the wax figure, but this shot from an old brochure of mine was all I could find.

View more information on Shirley Temple here.

Tags: Hollywood Wax Museum Wax Figure Wax Shirley Temple

Tussaud's London Wax Museum- Oswald Assassination

This "shot" from the old London Wax Museum in St. Petersburg Florida shows Lee Harvey Oswald being shot by Jack Ruby as Jim Leavelle stands helplessly by. All the other witnesses are too expensive to reproduce, so this tableaux is historically inaccurate. Perhaps the simplistic nature of the scene allows the museum guest to focus more on the historic importance of the assassination than the detail of the set.

Kennedy, and all the events surrounding his death, was a very popular subject for wax museums during the sixties. Some museums originally created scenes showing JFK as the current President, then needed to change them in order to honor him as their fallen leader.

View more information about Lee Harvey Oswald here.

Learn more about the London Wax Museum here.

Tags: Louis Tussaud's Wax Museum Wax Figure Wax Lee Harvey Oswald

Jailbird Lindsay Lohan at Madame Tussaud's

In an unusual and unoriginal move, madame Tussaud's in New York unveiled a new look for their Lindsay Lohan figure. Following in the footsteps of Paris Hilton, Lohan now sports a classic black and white prison uniform. I guess stripes are in this season. It's a slightly clever way of bringing new life to this older figure.

Here miss Lohan poses for the cameras. Not the mug shot which has been making the rounds, but a more fashionable Lindsay.

I never thought this figure looked that much like her anyway.

Whatever happened to elaborate tableaux for the figures?

I wonder how long she will be smiling. They do create lifelike skin for the figures, even the ones who don't resemble their counterparts very much.

Here's what the figure originally looked like. I wonder what's going on with her side. She never lets go of it. View my original Lindsay Lohan post here.

Visit the Madame Tussaud's website here.

View Lindsay Lohan's Filmography here.

Tags: Madame Tussauds Wax Museum Wax Figure Wax Lindsay Lohan