National Great Blacks In Wax Museum

National Great Blacks In Wax Museum
Two silhouettes opening a large book with text reading "Taking You Through the Pages of Time"
Taking You Through the Pages of Time
Museum in former fire house with tope stone
Museum building in former firehouse
National Great Blacks In Wax Museum is located in Baltimore
National Great Blacks In Wax Museum
Location within Baltimore
National Great Blacks In Wax Museum is located in Maryland
National Great Blacks In Wax Museum
Location within Maryland
National Great Blacks In Wax Museum is located in the United States
National Great Blacks In Wax Museum
Location within the United States
Established1983 (1983)
Location1601-03 East North Avenue
Baltimore, Maryland 21213
Coordinates39°18′43″N 76°35′49″W / 39.31182°N 76.59685°W / 39.31182; -76.59685
TypeAfrican-American, wax museum
Collections
Africa to Americas, Leaders & Inventors, The Violence of Lynching, Traveling Exhibits
FoundersDr. Elmer Martin & Dr. Joanne Martin
Websitewww.greatblacksinwax.org

The National Great Blacks in Wax Museum is a wax museum in Baltimore, Maryland, featuring prominent African-American and other Black historical figures. It was established in 1983, in a downtown storefront on Saratoga Street. The museum is at 1601 East North Avenue in a renovated firehouse, a Victorian mansion, and two former apartment dwellings that provide nearly 30,000 square feet (3,000 m2) of exhibit and office space. The exhibits feature over 100 wax figures and scenes, including: a full model slave ship exhibit which portrays the 400-year history of the Atlantic Slave Trade, an exhibit on the role of youth in making history, and a Maryland room highlighting the contributions to African American history by notable Marylanders.[1] The museum's co-founder, Dr. Joanne Martin, describes the importance of preserving Black history in this way, stating: "Everything else, it seems like a movie if you don't have a sense of exactly what people were fighting against."[2]

History

The National Great Blacks in Wax museum is Baltimore's first wax museum and the first wax museum of African American history in the nation. The museum was started as a grassroots operation by Dr. Joanne Martin and her husband, Dr. Elmer Martin.[3]

The idea of Blacks in wax started with a few wax figures that were taken around to various schools, community centers, and malls. The museum was originally sponsored exclusively by Dr. Elmer Martin, his wife Dr. Joanne Martin, and donations from the community. In the early days, Dr. Elmer Martin was forced to ask his wife to sell her wedding ring to keep the moving exhibit going. However, it received national recognition in 1983 when the founding members were allotted grants, loans, and endowments to open a permanent exhibition. In 1988, Blacks in Wax received its permanent home on the 1600 block of North Avenue in the neighborhood of Oliver.[4]

The site was originally constructed in 1895 as Engine House No. 19 for the Baltimore City Fire Department. The museum converted the firehouse into a museum. In 2004, The Blacks in Wax Museum was recognized by the U.S. Congress as the "Nation's first wax museum presenting the history of great Black Americans" and subsequently became The National Blacks in Wax Museum.[5]

The following people have been depicted at the museum:

See also

References

  1. ↑ "National Great Blacks In Wax Museum". www.greatblacksinwax.org. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  2. ↑ Parker, B.A. (October 6, 2017). "Suitable for Children: History is Not a Toy". This American Life (Audio). Chicago: WBEZ. Episode 627 (Act Two). Retrieved August 7, 2026.
  3. ↑ Reece, Janay (February 16, 2024). "Taking a look at the first African American history wax museum, located in Baltimore". CBS News. New York City: Paramount Global. Retrieved August 7, 2026.
  4. ↑ Sayles, Megan (June 11, 2025). "The National Great Blacks in Wax Museum to host annual 'Voices of History' Street Fair". Afro News. Baltimore. Retrieved August 7, 2026.
  5. ↑ "National Great Black Americans Commemoration Act of 2004, S. 1233,108th Cong. (2004)".

Sources

  • Wood, M. (2009), 'Slavery, Memory, and Museum Display in Baltimore: The Great Blacks in Wax and the Reginald F. Lewis. Curator: The Museum Journal, 52: 147–167. 2001.
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