Editing Wax museum (section)

==Notable wax museums==
[[File:London-Madame Tussauds gallery dome.jpg|thumb|The [[Madame Tussauds|Madame Tussauds Museum]] location in [[London]], [[England]]]]{{Citations needed|date=January 2025}}
[[Madame Tussauds]], historically associated with [[London]], is the most famous name associated with wax museums, although it was not the earliest wax museum, as is sometimes thought. In 1835 Madame Tussaud established her first permanent exhibition in [[London]]'s [[Baker Street]]. By the late 19th century most large cities had some kind of commercial wax museum, like the {{lang|fr|[[Musée Grévin]]|italic=no}} in Paris or the [[Panoptikum Hamburg]], and for a century these remained highly popular. In the late 20th century it became harder for them to compete with other attractions.

Today there are also Madame Tussauds in 22 locations, including [[Dam Square]], Amsterdam; [[Berlin]]; [[Madame Tussauds Hong Kong|Hong Kong]]; [[Shanghai]]; and in the [[United States]]: the [[The Venetian (Las Vegas)|Venetian Hotel]] in [[Las Vegas Valley|Las Vegas, Nevada]], [[Times Square]] in New York City, [[Washington, D.C.]], and [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]]. Madame Tussauds opened its first museum in India at [[New Delhi]] in 2017.

Louis Tussaud's wax museum in [[San Antonio, Texas]], is across the street from the historic [[Alamo]]. Others are located on the Canadian side of [[Niagara Falls]], and [[Grand Prairie, Texas]].

[[File:Vida de Cristo Museu Fatima 0441 (19119833795).jpg|thumb|The [[Life of Christ Museum]] is located in [[Fátima, Portugal|Fatima]], [[Portugal]]]]
[[File:Vida de Cristo Museu Fatima 0496 (18932300608).jpg|thumb|The [[crucifixion of Jesus]] scene in the [[Life of Christ Museum]] ([[Fátima, Portugal|Fatima]])]]
Among the most notable wax museums is the [[Life of Christ Museum]] located in [[Fátima, Portugal|Fatima]], the city internationally known for the phenomenon of the [[Our Lady of Fátima|apparitions of the Virgin Mary]] that allegedly occurred in [[Portugal]]. Tony Julius, director of the London company that manufactured the [[Wax sculpture|wax figures]] and former collaborator of the [[Madame Tussauds|Madame Tussauds Museum]], considered it the third best wax museum in the world.

One of the most popular and famous wax museums in the United States for decades was The [[Movieland Wax Museum]] in [[Buena Park, California]], near [[Knott's Berry Farm]]. The museum opened in 1962 and through the years added many wax figures of famous show business figures. Several stars attended the unveilings of the wax incarnations and some added their handprints, footprints, and/or signatures in cement there ala [[Grauman's Chinese Theatre]]. The museum was profiled on a number of television programs and occasionally referenced on TV dramas given its longtime success as a tourist attraction, no doubt in part due to the close proximity to Knott's Berry Farm and [[Disneyland]]. The museum closed its doors on October 31, 2005, after years of dwindling attendance.

A very similar museum occasionally confused with the Movieland Wax Museum is the [[Hollywood Wax Museum]] located in [[Hollywood, California]] which features almost exclusively figures of movie actors displayed in settings associated with their roles in popular movies. This group of museums includes [[Hollywood Wax Museum Branson]] in [[Branson, Missouri]] along with [[Hollywood Wax Museum Pigeon Forge]] in [[Pigeon Forge, Tennessee]] and [[Hollywood Wax Museum Myrtle Beach]] in [[Myrtle Beach, South Carolina]]. With the original location having been developed in the mid-1960s, this group of museums went against the late 20th century trend of declining wax museum attendance, with the Branson location having undergone a substantial expansion and remodeling in 2008 and 2009 including an animated ride and a mirror maze.

Another popular wax museum is the Musée Conti Wax Museum in [[New Orleans, Louisiana]], which features wax figures portraying the city's history as well as a "Haunted Dungeon" section of wax figures of famous characters from horror films and literature. This museum is now closed and the Conti building was converted into condos. The museum was rumored to reopen at [[Jazzland (amusement park)|Jazzland]] theme park some indefinite date in the future but that park itself closed before long.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wgno.com/2016/07/19/the-musee-conti-wax-museum-plans-to-move-to-the-new-jazzland-theme-park-eventually/|title=The Musee Conti Wax Museum plans to move to the new Jazzland theme park – eventually|date=20 July 2016}}</ref>  Several of the wax figures are now on display in [[Darrow, Louisiana]] at The Great River Road Museum near [[Houmas House]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/entertainment_life/great-river-road-museum-to-host-belated-grand-opening-nov-12/article_c27dade4-6ea6-11ee-b0f3-df051b5622f5.html|title=Nightat the Museum|date=9 November 2023}}</ref>

Another popular wax museum in the U.S. is the [[Wax Museum at Fisherman's Wharf]] in [[San Francisco, California]].

[[BibleWalk]] is a Christian wax museum in [[Mansfield, Ohio]].<ref name="contact">{{cite web|url=https://www.biblewalk.us/contact/|title=About Us|website=BibleWalk|access-date=May 22, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb6y53pdN4M  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/Sb6y53pdN4M| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|title=Biblewalk Wax Museum |date=July 2, 2010 |website=[[YouTube]]|access-date=May 22, 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref> It has received attention for its use of celebrity wax figures in its religious scenes,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/11802032/Wax-figures-of-British-royals-appear-at-US-Biblical-museum.html |title=Wax figures of British royals appear at US Biblical museum |last=Lawler |first=David |date=August 13, 2015 |website=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |access-date=May 22, 2018 }}</ref> originally a cost-saving measure when new wax figures were deemed too expensive.<ref name="contact" />

The [[Royal London Wax Museum]] was open in downtown [[Victoria, British Columbia]], Canada, from 1970 to 2010 in the Steamship Terminal building, it featured "royalty to rogues and the renowned." It was forced to close when the building required seismic upgrades.

The [[National Wax Museum (Ireland)|National Wax Museum]] in [[Dublin]], Ireland is a wax museum which hosts well over a hundred figures. For many years it has had only one sculptor, PJ Heraty, who continued producing figures even while the museum was closed. Meanwhile, it could be re-opened at a new location. During the last few years some other new wax museums are starting around the world. In 2009 Dreamland Wax Museum opened in Gramado, in the south of Brazil.

[[The National Presidential Wax Museum]] {{citation needed|date=December 2021}} in Keystone, South Dakota is the only wax museum in the world to feature every U.S. president. Their exhibits also include other notable figures from history such as General George Custer, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, and Sitting Bull. Originally created by the famed sculptor Katherine Stubergh, the museum includes death and life masks of notable Hollywood celebrities including Mae West and Sid Grauman. Their most revered exhibit is a depiction of George W. Bush standing on the rubble of the World Trade Center with NYFD fireman Bob Beckwith following the attacks on September 11, 2001.

India's first wax museum opened in December 2005 in Kanyakumari. Now located to Kanyakumari Railway Station it contains  wax statues of celebrities at Multi Functional Complex Kanyakumari. The biggest wax museum in India named [[Mother's Wax Museum]] was opened in November 2014 in [[Rajarhat|New Town, Kolkata]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan's wax statues at Kolkata's wax museum - Times of India|website=[[The Times of India]]|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/Amitabh-Bachchan-and-Shah-Rukh-Khans-wax-statues-at-Kolkatas-wax-museum/articleshow/45022680.cms}}</ref> Another branch opened in July 2008 at the historical site of Old Goa with a collection of religious statues.