Wikipedia (
visit link) informs us about the Ripley's Museums franchise:
"When Ripley first displayed his collection to the public at the Chicago World's Fair in 1933, it was labeled Ripley’s Odditorium and attracted over two million visitors during the run of the fair. (In an apparent promotional gimmick, beds were provided in the Odditorium for people who "fainted" daily.) That successful exhibition led to trailer shows across the country during the 1930s, and Ripley's collections were exhibited at many major fairs and expositions, including San Francisco, San Diego, Dallas and Cleveland. In New York, the famed Times Square exhibit opened in 1939 on Broadway. In 1950, a year after Ripley's death, the first permanent Odditorium opened in St. Augustine, Florida.
As of December 2010, there are 32 Ripley's Believe It or Not! Odditoriums around the world. Odditoriums, in the spirit of Believe It or Not!, are often more than simple museums cluttered with curiosities. Some include theaters and arcades, such as the ones in Gatlinburg, Tennessee and Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. Others are constructed oddly, such as the Orlando, Florida Odditorium which is built off-level as if the building is sinking."
This particular Museum's website (
visit link) tells us:
"Ripley’s Brings Weird to the Wharf
Ripley’s Believe It or Not! is San Francisco’s home to weird class family fun that is located in the world famous Fisherman’s Wharf near Pier 39. With two floors and over 10,000 square feet filled with the strange, the unusual, and the unbelievable, Ripley’s Believe It or Not! is the weirdest thing on the Wharf!
See in person the incredible “Believe It or Not!’s” you’ve read about it in the Ripley books and cartoons and watched on television. Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditorium is a self-guided, self-paced interactive tour that is fun for the whole family and allows guests to fully enjoy San Francisco’s most bizarre attraction!
Amazing Exhibits, Unusual Art, Unbelievable & Genuine Artifacts from Around the Globe!
During your visit, marvel at our collection of weird and unusual relics and rare treasures as you explore through some of the weirdest finds imaginable. In the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditorium you can visit an unbelievable variety of artifacts and displays in our unique interactive galleries that pay tribute to the odd and strange.
After you visit the Odditorium, be sure to check out Ripley’s Marvelous Mirror Maze and see if you can find your way out of 2,000 square feet of mirrored path and satisfy your sweet tooth with Ripley’s Candy Factory!"
Costs:
"General Admission (ages 13 & up) $19.99
Children (ages 5-12) $9.99"