Movieland Wax Museum

"Movieland Wax Museum of the Stars" redirects here. For the Niagara Falls museum, see Movieland Wax Museum of the Stars (Ontario).

Coordinates: 33°51′04″N 117°59′56″W / 33.8512°N 117.9989°W / 33.8512; -117.9989

Movieland Wax Museum, with over 300 wax figures in 150 sets, was the largest wax museum in the United States. Located in Buena Park, California, it was for decades one of the most popular wax museums in the United States. Allen Parkinson founded the museum on May 4, 1962, but sold it to the Six Flags Corporation in 1970. It was located north of Knott's Berry Farm on Beach Boulevard.

In 1975, Six Flags opened a Movieland Wax Museum clone called "Stars Hall of Fame" in Orlando, Florida, located near the intersection of the State Road 528 Bee-Line Expressway and Interstate 4, close to SeaWorld and just north of Walt Disney World. However, in 1984 after a drop in attendance, the Florida museum was closed and sold to the publisher Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Having no interest in the museum but an interest in the land alone, Harcourt sold off the exhibits to the American Musical Academy of Arts Association and turned the property into a showroom for the company's educational materials.[1]

On April 1, 1985, the Six Flags Corporation sold the California-based Movieland Wax Museum to Fong & Paul Associates, the owners of the world famous Wax Museum at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. Twenty years later, on October 31, 2005, after forty-three years in business and 10 million visitors, Movieland closed.

In the museum's heyday, several actors and actresses attended the unveilings of their wax likenesses, and even went so far as to donate costumes to be worn by their likenesses, along with sets replicated from well-known movie scenes. Movie themes and sound effects also added to the authenticity of the museum. A movie clapperboard on each set included the name of the wax figures and facts about the movie, props, costume, and the person whom the wax figure was modeled on.

Many of the wax figures and sets from the Movieland Wax Museum were auctioned off in March 2006.[2]

The former Starlite Gift Shop in front of the museum is now a Starbucks Coffee.

The Starprint Gallery, with handprints and footprints of celebrities in cement, dating from the early 1980s, still exists on the front part of the property.

The tall tower sign is the tallest sign in Orange County, California. It still exists on the property.

The Movieland Wax Museum property was purchased by the City of Buena Park in May 2007. In 2013 the city leased the property to Premier Exhibitions for display of RMS Titanic relics and its Bodies: The Exhibition.[3]

In October of 2016, the main Movieland Wax Museum building was torn down, however the iconic sign and Starbucks out in front of the property remain standing.

Figures displayed

References

  1. ↑ Stars Hall of Fame
  2. ↑ "Movieland Wax Museum Closing Down ~ Orange County Memories". Octhen.com. 2006-02-16. Retrieved 2013-03-22.
  3. ↑ Kheel, Rebecca (August 21, 2013). "Former wax museum to house 'Bodies,' Titanic exhibits". Orange County Register.
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