2011

When Ripley first displayed his collection to the public at the Chicago World's Fair in 1933, it was labeled Ripley’s Odditorium and attracted over two million visitors during the run of the fair. (In an apparent promotional gimmick, beds were provided in the Odditorium for people who "fainted" daily.) That successful exhibition led to trailer shows across the country during the 1930s, and Ripley's collections were exhibited at many major fairs and expositions, including San Francisco, San Diego, Dallas and Cleveland. In New York, the famed Times Square exhibit opened in 1939 on Broadway. In 1950, a year after Ripley's death, the first permanent Odditorium opened in St. Augustine, Florida.
As of December 2010, there are 32 Ripley's Believe It or Not! Odditoriums around the world. Odditoriums, in the spirit of Believe It or Not!, are often more than simple museums cluttered with curiosities. Some include theaters and arcades, such as the ones in Gatlinburg, Tennessee and Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. Others are constructed oddly, such as the Orlando, Florida Odditorium which is built off-level as if the building is sinking.

United States

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California Odditorium

St. Augustine, Florida Odditorium

Panama City Beach, Florida Odditorium

Ripley's shark being produced

California

San Francisco – There is a Ripley's Museum located near Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco.

Buena Park, California – This Ripley's Odditorium was located in Buena Park's E-Zone district on Beach Boulevard, close to Knott's Berry Farm. This is the location where Steve Sindad broke the world record for consuming ranch dressing, drinking 61 bottles worth (about 7 gallons). The Buena Park location closed its doors on March 30, 2009.

Hollywood – There is a Ripley's Museum on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.

Florida

St. Augustine – Ripley's oldest Odditorium, located in the Castle Warden, was purchased shortly after his death in 1949 and opened in 1950. Prior to becoming home to Ripley's vast collections from his many travels, "The Castle" as it is known, was once a hotel which played host to many famous guests, including Ripley himself and author/owner Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. "The Castle" was originally a Moorish Revival style mansion, built in 1887 by millionaire William Warden as a winter home. The popularity and success of this museum led Ripley's associates to open new establishments throughout the United States and the world. But "The Castle" remains the permanent home of Ripley's personal collections and is the flagship of the Odditoriums. Perhaps not surprisingly, it is also rumored to be haunted. Segments of the most recent Ripley's TV series were filmed here, including the opening credits. Among the attractions here are a mummified cat, a 1/12 scale model of the original Ferris wheel made out of Erector sets, life and death masks of famous celebrities (including Abe Lincoln), and shamanistic apparati from cultures around the world.

Panama City Beach – Opened in 2006, this Ripley's Museum is at the intersection of Front Beach Road, Middle Beach Road, and Thomas Drive on Panama City Beach and is designed to look like a 1950s luxury cruise liner that has run aground on the beach. The Panama City Beach Ripley's Believe It or Not location also has a moving 4-D theater.

Orlando – This Odditorium is located on the busy International Drive tourist corridor, and is built to appear as though it is dropping into a sinkhole.

Key West – The Ripley's Museum is located on the famous Duval Street.

Maryland

Ocean City – The Ripley's Museum in Ocean City, Maryland is located on the boardwalk at Wicomico Street. It is a popular destination for tourists and it sits at the entrance to Jolly Roger's Pier Amusement Park. It features a large model of a shark that appears as if it has crashed through the museum.

Missouri

Branson – The Branson, Missouri, the Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum looks like a stone edifice that was cracked by an earthquake.

New Jersey

Atlantic City – The Atlantic City, New Jersey museum is on the famous Boardwalk.

New York

New York City – The Ripley's Believe It or Not! Odditorium re-opened in Manhattan on 42nd Street in July 2007.

Oregon

Newport – The Newport, Oregon museum was funded by Jacob Walters and built in 1986. The Ripley's Museum in Newport, Oregon is at the Historic Bayfront. One of three amusements known as Mariner Square. The other two are the Wax Works and the Undersea Gardens.

South Carolina

Odditorium in Myrtle Beach

Myrtle Beach – The Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, museum looks like a building cracked by a hurricane. It is at the corner of 9th Avenue and Ocean Boulevard. Ripley's has five other attractions in Myrtle Beach besides the museum: the Aquarium, a moving-theater attraction, an arcade, a haunted house, and a house of mirrors.

Tennessee

Gatlinburg – The original Gatlinburg, Tennessee museum, built in 1970, was destroyed by a massive fire caused by a faulty light fixture in a neighboring shop on July 14, 1992. The museum had to be completely rebuilt. Some of Ripley's most prized and unique possessions were consumed by the blaze. The current museum opened in 1994, with a tribute to the city's firefighters included among the collections. Artifacts salvaged from the blaze sport "I Survived The Fire" decals. The new building also has nearly twice the amount of exhibit space as the original. As with some other Ripley museums, this building has a theme. The museum looks as if it has survived a major earthquake. The interior and exterior of the building feature cracks throughout, adhering to the theme. The Ripley's Company has since opened several other attractions in the area, including a "four-dimensional" theater, a state-of-the-art aquarium, a haunted factory, several arcades, two miniature golf attractions and a mirror maze all of which carry the Ripley's brand name and signature logo.

Texas

Grand Prairie – Ripley’s Museum is located at 601 East Safari Parkway in Grand Prairie, Texas. It is west of downtown Dallas, Texas on I-30 Highway, and it is on the northwest intersection of Belt Line Road & I-30, 7 miles East of Six Flags.

San Antonio – The Ripley's Museum is located across from the historic Alamo. In the same building is a wax museum, and just a short walk down the road is Ripley's Haunted Adventure.

Virginia

Williamsburg – This Ripley's Museum in Williamsburg opened in 2006. The Museum has 11 galleries and over 300 exhibits. There is also a 4D Theater that shows 3D movies with added effects (air, water, scent, etc.)

Wisconsin

Wisconsin Dells – The Museum looks like a plane flew through the front of the building and has a car parked on the side of the building. It is located in the Downtown Strip of the family resort town of Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin.

Wyoming

Jackson – There is a Ripley's Museum in Jackson, Wyoming.

Canada

Ripley's purchasing ten baseball bats acquired by the Calgary Vipers in a trade

Niagara Falls, Ontario – The museum in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada is shaped like the Empire State Building fallen over, with King Kong standing on top of it. This is the second oldest Ripley's Museum in the world and is one of two in Canada. Located across the street is a Ripley's 4D Moving Theatre, and up the street there is a Louis Tussauds Wax Works which is owned by Ripley's.

Cavendish, Prince Edward Island – Canada's only other Ripley's is located in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island. The museum is located in a concentrated area of tourist attractions adjacent to the Prince Edward Island National Park. A lighthouse (the top broken) features the Ripley's sign. The museum is adjoined to a wax museum and also features a mini-golf attraction.

Toronto, Ontario - An aquarium is being planned and built next to the CN Tower and Metro Toronto Convention Centre.^[10]. The 150,000 square foot structure will boast the longest underwater tunnel in North America and is scheduled to open in 2015.

United Kingdom

London – The world's largest Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum opened on August 20, 2008 at the London Pavilion, 1 Piccadilly Circus. It houses over 500 exhibits from educational artifacts to the truly weird and wonderful. It is famed for its large collection of Marilyn Monroe personal belongings and interactive exhibits.

Blackpool – The first Ripley's Believe It or Not! museum opened in the UK is based in the popular holiday destination of Blackpool.

Great Yarmouth (closed) – There was an Odditorium in Great Yarmouth on the east coast of England. It opened 1993 and it closed in 1997.^[11] It is now an indoor miniature golf course that actually uses some of the leftovers from the Odditorium as scenery for the holes.

Asia

Bangalore, India – The Ripley's Museum is at the Innovative Filmcity in Bangalore.

Jakarta, Indonesia (closed)- The Ripley's Museum was located in Pondok Indah Mall

Jeju Island, South Korea - The Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum is located at the Jeju Jungmun resort.

Pattaya, Thailand – The Ripley's Museum is in Royal Garden Plaza in Pattaya.
It appears as if an airplane has crashed into it.

Genting Highlands, Malaysia – The Ripley's Believe It or Not! museum is inside the First World Plaza in Genting Highlands, Malaysia.

Kuwait City, Kuwait – The Ripley's museum is located in the Hadiqat Al Sheaab Amusement Park.

Mandaluyong City, Philippines (closed) – In the Shangri-La Mall in Ortigas.

Victoria Peak, Hong Kong (closed) – There was an Odditorium in The Peak, Hong Kong. It opened early 1998.

Mexico

Guadalajara, Mexico – Opened recently^[when?], is a small museum like Mexico City's museum. It is near downtown of Guadalajara.

Mexico City, Mexico – Opened in 1992, the Mexico City's Ripley's Museum is shaped like a medieval castle and has 14 exhibition halls within it. This was the first of three Ripley's museums to open in Latin America.

Denmark

Copenhagen, Denmark – A smaller museum located close to the city hall of Copenhagen, next to the museum of Jacob McCartney Walters.

Australia

Gold Coast, Australia – There is a Ripley's Museum located at the popular tourist destination Surfers Paradise. The museum reopened in the new Soul Centre on January 22, 2010, featuring a band of human oddities playing songs at the entrance.

BELIEVE IT OR NOT

Monday, February 7, 2011

image's

Museums