Potter's Wax Museum - Atlas Obscura
Places near me Random place

Potter's Wax Museum

St. Augustine, Florida

America's first wax museum opened in 1948. 

View all photos
Wax figure of Leonardo Da Vinci SemiruralYeti (Atlas Obscura User)
Wax figure of Leonardo Da Vinci SemiruralYeti (Atlas Obscura User)
Wax figure of Ebenezer Scrooge SemiruralYeti (Atlas Obscura User)
Rotating wax head of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde SemiruralYeti (Atlas Obscura User)
Wax figure of Freddy Krueger SemiruralYeti (Atlas Obscura User)
107
103
Top Places in St. Augustine
St. Augustine Airplane Graveyard
St. Augustine, Florida
Pirate & Treasure Museum
St. Augustine, Florida
St. Photios National Greek Orthodox Shrine
St. Augustine, Florida
 See All

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.

Know Before You Go

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

wax museum museums
Community Contributors
SemiruralYeti
Added by
SemiruralYeti
Published
August 17, 2023
Edit this listing
Make an Edit Add Photos
Nearby
The Love Trees of St. Augustine
0.01 miles
Old Spanish Trail Zero Milestone
0.07 miles
Dungeon Under the Stairs at the Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse
0.08 miles
Want to see fewer ads? Become a Member.
Near This Place
St. Augustine, Florida

The Love Trees of St. Augustine

Intertwined, interspecies trees which locals believe can grant boons to lovers.
St. Augustine, Florida

Old Spanish Trail Zero Milestone

In this case, 'zero' marks the spot where the iconic Old Spanish Trail ends.
An 18th century detention hall.
St. Augustine, Florida

Dungeon Under the Stairs at the Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse

It's a pretty creepy lock-up.
St. Augustine, Florida

Pirate & Treasure Museum

Arrr! The most authentic collection of pirate artifacts in the world... matey.
Related Places
The murder scene as rendered in 2001
Paris, France

Jean-Paul Marat's Bathtub at Musée Grévin

A magical, macabre wax museum, beloved by locals, uses real artifacts to depict an assassination from the French Revolution.
Baltimore, Maryland

The National Great Blacks in Wax Museum

Meet some of the most prominent figures in Black history through life-sized wax models.
Zenobia, on the sign above the shed that is the Witch's Dungeon
Plainville, Connecticut

Witch’s Dungeon

A seasonal movie monster museum featuring wax creations by a relative of one of the original Universal Studios monsters.
Surfers Paradise, Australia

Gold Coast Wax Museum and Chamber of Horrors

The largest wax museum in the southern hemisphere features a grizzly chamber of horrors.
In partnership with KAYAK

Plan Your Trip

From Around the Web