Potter's Wax Museum - Atlas Obscura
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Potter's Wax Museum

St. Augustine, Florida

America's first wax museum opened in 1948. 

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Founded by George L. Potter in 1948, this wax museum gets the special privilege of being the oldest wax museum in the United States. 

Potter first got the inspiration to get into a lifelong passion for wax art while visiting Madame Tussuaud’s Wax Museum in London as a young boy. When he amassed a good amount of wealth he was able to contract a company to create figures for his collection. 

Unfortunately when Potter died in 1979, his family not having as much of a desire to stay in the wax museum business, decided to close the original version in 1986. Thankfully, most of the collection was acquired and put back on display in 1987, albeit with about 100 fewer wax sculptures than the original wax museum carried in it.

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Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week

wax museum museums
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August 17, 2023
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