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Movieland Wax Museum, marquee, Buena Vista, August 1962, 1960s
Code Number:
CLAV07P13_05
Title:
Movieland Wax Museum, marquee, Buena Vista, August 1962, 1960s
After 43 years in business and 10 million visitors, Movieland Wax Museum closed its doors for good on Oct. 31, 2005.

About 50 of the museum's celebrity figures were shipped to a sister museum in San Francisco, and 80 others went to a museum in South Korea. Most of the rest were put up for public auction in March 2006, which brought in over a million dollars.

The "Star Trek" cast went to a fan for $34,000. The Elizabeth Taylor / Cleopatra figure went for $25,000 The Christopher Reeve / Superman figure sold for $16,000 (just days after the death of Reeve's widow), and Elvis went for $14,000. That giant statue of Michelangelo's "David" that stood outside the museum brought in $120,000. The buyer was none other than USA Equities, which also bought several of the wax figures. They hope to incorporate a small part of the old museum into their new development, to "blend the old with the new..."

The building will be demolished and replaced by "Movieland Plaza", a shopping center featuring a Best Buy store and a food court. However, there will be one reminder (beyond the name) of the former museum: some of the museum's wax stars will be on display (inside glass cases) at the new center, including Liz Taylor, Rudolph Valentino, Shirley Temple, Superman, Austin Powers and General George Patton - along with the museum's giant replica of Michelangelo's "David".
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