News- Royal London Wax Museum Closes

Sad news coming out of British Columbia as today marks the end of one of North America's great wax museums. The Royal London Wax Museum will close its doors for good as an unfortunate lease dispute has ended the relationship the museum has had with the owners of the historic Canadian Pacific Steamship terminal building. Due to seismic upgrades needed on the building, the museum had to vacate the premises, but the expense of temporarily moving and then rebuilding the tableaux proved too costly. They also were unable to secure a long term lease in the building, even if they could have found the money to rebuild. The museum owners looked for other suitable locations, but they could not find any.

The figures will move into storage, and hopefully a solution will be found. However, the future does not look bright that the Royal London Wax Museum will ever reopen.

Visit the Royal London Wax Museum website while it is still up here.

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Royal London Wax Museum- Queen Victoria

(1819-1901)

Here we see the wax figure of Queen Victoria at the Royal London Wax Museum in British Columbia, Canada. She is known as the longest reigning monarch of the British Kingdom, and the longest female monarch in history.

A close up of the wax figure sitting.

Visit the Royal London Wax Museum website here.

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Royal London Wax Museum- Architects of Victory

Here we see in the Royal London Wax Museum a scene honoring the men who made victory in the second Word War possible. From left to right have; Field-Marshal Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, Sir Winston Churchill, Louis Mountbatten, Earl Mountbatten of Burma, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. They are standing in the rubble of the greatest conflict of the Twentieth Century.

Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969), and Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945). Although Roosevelt didn't live long enough to see victory, he was honored in the tableaux instead of Harry Truman.

Winston Churchill (1874-1965). The twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Louis Mountbatten (1900-1979). The longest surviving of the men seen here, he was murdered by the IRA while aboard his boat.

Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery (1887-1976). Son of a Bishop whose memoirs, and outspoken opinions led to controversy.

Visit the Royal London Wax Museum website here.


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Royal London Wax Museum- The Algerian Hook

This ancient form of torture is featured here in the Royal London Wax Museum. The poor victim has his vital organs pierced, and blood drips from the massive wounds. The shear agony, and pain teaches this doomed man a lesson before he dies.

The look on the face is evidence enough of the effectiveness of this device. This poor wax figure never had a chance.

Off to the side is another who felt the sting of the Algerian Hook. Now he lies rotting in the cell.

Visit the Royal London Wax Museum website here.

Tags: Royal London Wax Museum Wax Figure Wax Algerian Hook

Royal London Wax Museum- Exterior

Today I thought I'd feature an image from a wax museum outside the United States. The only wax museum not from America that I've featured before is Madame Tussaud's, but there are many such museums all over the world, and the Royal London Wax Museum is one of the most exciting. This shot shows the museum as a very popular destination, of course. The wax museum opened in 1961, and has been entertaining visitors ever since. It features mostly historical scenes, but has also had religious and fantasy tableaux as well. They had a grand re-opening in this building in 1971.

The sign describes the museum as a Josephine Tussaud wax museum, and claims to be the first Josephine Tussaud wax museum in North America. I always considered Movieland Wax Museum to have had the grandest building of all the wax museums, but the neoclassical architecture of this structure causes me to rethink that idea a bit.

The museum is located at 470 Belleville Street - Victoria, BC V8V 1W9 Canada.

Visit their website here.

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