National Great Blacks In Wax Museum
President Barack Obama figure at the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum; (c) Soul Of America
DESCRIPTION: Top-Tier Historical Wax Museum; Founded in 1983 and expanded in 1987 in an unused fire station, Victorian Mansion, and two former apartment dwellings to provide 30,000 square feet of space, it is the most remarkable museum of its genre. This museum contains over 100 wax figures and scenes, a full model slave ship exhibit telling the 400-year history of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, a room highlighting the contributions of outstanding Marylanders to African American history, a gift shop, and a mini auditorium for lectures, films, and presentations. All the lifelike displays are enhanced with special lighting, effects with particular attention to the accuracy of skin color. Each display is presented chronologically from ancient Africa, the Middle Passage on a slave ship, slave revolts, the Antebellum and Postbellum periods, the Reconstruction Era, the Harlem Renaissance, and the Civil Rights Movement to the present. Among the historic wax figures are The Queen of Sheba, Hannibal, George Washington Carver, Booker T. Washington, Colin Powell, Paul Robeson, Rosa Parks, Mary McCloud Bethune, Matthew Henson, Billie Holiday, Earl Graves, Howard Rollins, and President Barack Obama. They have acquired the entire block for future expansion and parking.
ADMISSION: Modest fee
DAYS & HOURS: Tue-Sat 9a-6p
ADDRESS: 1601-03 East North Avenue, Baltimore, MD
PARKING: street only
RAPID TRANSIT: none
PHONE: 410-563-3404
WEBSITE: http://www.greatblacksinwax.org
