After driving across Teton Pass in Wyoming, our drive to our next stop seemed quite relaxing. Our first morning of exploration began with a stop for coffee and donuts on the way for an up close and personal look at Mount Rushmore. But right next to the Grapes and Grinds was the National Presidential Wax Museum in Keystone SD, so we opted to stop there first.
Our first glimpse of Mount Rushmore gave us goose bumps!
Upon our arrival at Holy Smoke Resort, which would be Ladybug’s home for the next few days, we decided to hurry with setting up. Why? Because neither of us could wait for our first view of Mount Rushmore! It took our breath away. But we were exhausted and returned to our RV knowing we would get a closer look the next day.
National Presidential Wax Museum Keystone SD
My first speech as Madame President
My Press Secretary, Steve, will answer all of your questions.
We had no idea when we went out for our decadent breakfast that the National Presidential Wax Museum would be right on our way to the very epic attraction that drew us to Keystone in the first place. But since we were pretty much already in the parking lot, we decided to take the tour. And were we ever glad that we did. The museum guided us on an amazing tour of American history. Though all of the figures are wax, they are so painstakingly created that they seem to come to life before your eyes.
Our current President, Joe Biden
President Barack Obama
Visiting the National Presidential Wax Museum is an exciting patriotic experience that’s perfect for the whole family. There are over 100 extremely lifelike wax figures, including all 46 United States presidents that are all shown in stunning visual recreations of iconic moments in U.S. presidential history.
Behind the scenes
George and Martha Washington approve of Betsy Ross’s handiwork on our first American flag
We a behind the scenes look at how the figures were created by watching the intricacies of the wax sculpture process in a 7 minute video. This awesome film showcased the 10 artists who created the figures of America’s leaders out of wax. We even got to experience a bit of role playing. I, of course was Madam President, and gave a memorable statement to the press from the podium. Steve was my White House Press Secretary. He gave a fabulous speech from a teleprompter podium in a spot-on recreation of the White House press briefing room!
History
The 5 original drafters of the Declaration of Independence. Two of them will become presidents, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
Mrs. John Quincy Adams attends a White House reception with President and Mrs. James Monroe and President James Madison and his wife Dolley.
If you go to their website you will learn that “The National Presidential Wax Museum was founded in 1971 by famous Hollywood wax sculptor Madame Katherine Stubergh and renown movie set designers Don and Bonnie McPhee. It had always been a dream of Madame Stubergh’s to create a museum dedicated exclusively to the United States Presidency and considered it the capstone of her prolific career. Originally named the Parade of Presidents Wax Museum, the National Presidential Wax Museum is the only wax museum in the world to feature every U.S. President.”
Founding Artist
In December 1814, a concerned Rachel Jackson watches pirate Jean Laffite make a deal with General Jackson to defeat the British at New Orleans in return for amnesty.
Katherine Stubergh was born in 1911. Her parents were German wax mannequin makers. Growing up the young Madame Stubergh wanted nothing to do with wax sculpture. All she ever wanted was to be a classically trained dancer! But it was her astounding natural skill in wax sculpture along with pressure from her family that led her to relinquish her dancing dreams to focus on developing the family business.
During the Autumn of 1858, Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois meets Abraham Lincoln in debate over the slavery issue. Lincoln: “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”
A grave General Ulysses S. Grant accepts the surrender of Confederate forces from General Robert E. Lee at Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia on April 9, 1965.
Katherine’s skill and fame grew, creating a demand for her wax figures that soared. This demand coincided with the film industry’s increasing reliance on wax figures for the purposes of stand-ins and extras in movies. During that time, nearly every name on the Hollywood A-list posed for Katherine in her studio. She assessed their physique and made face and body measurements which was the first step in creating a wax figure.
Sioux Indian Chiefs: Gall, Crazy Horse, Rain-in-the-Face and Sitting Bull hold a council of war to meet Colonel Custer’s “Long Knives” at the Little Big Horn. Council of War June, 1876
Major Marcus A. Reno, General Alfred Howe Terry, Colonel George Armstrong Custer and Captain Fredrick W. Benteen leave their command post and head for the Little Big Horn River. And appointment with destiny June 1876. Custer, whom the Indians called Yellow Hair, will be the only one who will not return.
Here’s a fun tidbit, W.C. Fields and John Barrymore would regularly show up drunk to Katherine’s studio on Hollywood Boulevard. They were drawn to her by Barrymore’s keen fascination with her work.
Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone calling the White House
Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone, and Thomas Edison, inventor of the phonograph, demonstrate their amazing new inventions to President Hayes in the White House in 1877.
Rutherford Hayes was the first President to have a telephone installed in the White House.
Some of her movie creations are still viewed today in such films as House of Wax, Gone with the Wind, Charlie Chan and the Wax Museum, Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein, The Frozen Ghost, and countless other classic Hollywood movies. In today’s world of wax, Madame Stubergh sculptures are still among the most sought after and valuable wax figures, regarded by many as the most enduring and iconic relics of the golden age of wax sculpture.
Bachelor President Grover Cleveland marries Frances Folsom in the Blue Room of the White House on June 2, 1886 to become the first President married in office. She is 22 and he is 49/
When Katherine retired from Hollywood in 1970, the Stubergh Studio was sold to Ripley’s International.
New ownership
Soldier, statesman, sportsman, big game hunter, Teddy Roosevelt was fond of the East African proverb: Speak softly, carry a big stick, and you will go far. Governor of New York in 1898, Vice President in 1901, he became President when an assassin’s bullet ended President McKinley’s life in 1901.
Meeting in Washington D.C. in December of 1987, President Ronald Reagan and General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, the first treaty eliminating an entire class of nuclear weapons. They met again in May of 1988, in Moscow, the first superpower summit to be held in Russian in 16 years. Both leaders viewed the Moscow Summit as a success in terms of greater East-West understanding and cooperation – a step forward on the path to peace.
It was while Ronald Regan was president that Madame Stubergh and her husband Tom sold the museum, then called Parade of Presidents Wax Museum, to Jack and Mary Anne Riordan. The Riordans ran the museum for over a decade. When Mary Anne passed, in 1997, the museum, closed its doors. It sat vacant for the next three years, inhabited only by its nearly 100 wax residents. And then in 2000, the museum was purchased by KCJ Enterprises. After extensive renovations they reopened the museum under the name The National Presidential Wax Museum. Now the museum continues to build upon Katherine’s dream by adding new and exciting exhibits for every new president just as soon as they are elected.
Continuing the legacy
On August 10, 1927, just eight days after his famous “I Do Not Choose to Run” speech given while on vacation in South Dakota, President Coolidge dedicates Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Seated on the platform behind him are Senator Peter Norbeck, Gutzon Borglum the sculptor and John Boland.
When Katherine’s passed in 1996, ensuing wax sculptures in the museum were created by Henry Alvarez. Henry had been creating wax figures since 1968 when he answered an ad that Katherine had placed for a job making paper mache figures. For 3 years, he learned the intricacies of wax sculpture under Katherine’s careful mentorship. When Katherine sold her Los Angeles studio in 1970, Henry was hired by Ripley’s International as a production manager until 1986, when he opened his own wax studio, Alvarez Wax Productions. From 1986 until his death in 2012, Alvarez created numerous wax figures for the National Presidential Wax Museum, including Ronald Reagan, Jackie Kennedy, George, H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Al Gore. Henry’s sculptural work can be seen in many 80’s films which include The Thing, Legend, Bugsy, Total Recall, and all three Robocop films.
JETHRO CRABB
The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 didn’t just alter the New York skyline; they forever changed the course of America’s history. But despite the massive destruction and loss of life, the attacks served to unite New Yorkers, Americans and the people of the world through acts of heroism, compassion and generosity. The terrorists didn’t weaken us – they made us stronger.
Winston Churchill of England and Joseph Stalin of Russia meet with President Roosevelt at the Conference of Yalta on February 3 through 11, 1945. It was here that the three great powers of World War II agreed to participate in the administration of Germany, to defeat Japan, and to support the United Nations.
Currently, new wax figures in the National Presidential Wax Museum Keystone SD, are the creation of award-winning master wax sculptor, Jethro Crabb, along with his team of highly-specialized wax artists. A native of England and graduate of the Wimbledon School of Art in London, Jethro worked for 8 years as a freelance wax sculptor for London’s prestigious Madame Tussaud’s wax museum before he started his own company, Sculpture Commission. Jethro’s wax figures are thought of as some of the most realistic wax figures ever created. As a well known wax sculptor, Jethro Crabb has led teams on trips to the United States, Europe, Australia and Asia to visit, measure, and photograph famous celebrities, some of which include Brad Pitt, Meryl Streep, and Anderson Cooper.
Popular Kansas farm boy, West Point cadet, and Commander of the Allied Forces during World War II. Two terms in office led General Eisenhower to conclude that the presidency is the loneliest job in the nation.
Jethro Crabb’s wax figure of newly elected president Donald Trump was unveiled in May 2017 to critical acclaim. This figure is believed by many to be the most realistic wax figure of President Trump in the entire world. If you want to see more of Jethro’s work go to sculpturecommission.com.
Gift Shop
President Kennedy tries to work while his son John-John plays hide and seek under the president’s desk. One of the most popular presidents of recent times, Kennedy was also the youngest to be elected.
At heavily guarded Love Field in Dallas, Lyndon Johnson stands with his wife and stunned Jackie Kennedy in the cabin of Air Force One. He is sworn in as 36th President of the United States by Judge Sarah Hughes, just hours after the assassination of President Kennedy in Dallas on November 22, 1963.
The National Presidential Wax Museum also boasts a huge gift shop filled with unique and quirky gifts that can’t be found anywhere else in the Black Hills. Steve bought a bargain bundle of four T-shirts that highlight local attractions.
Temporarily closed
In the most significant event in the history of man, President Nixon welcomes back astronaut Neil Armstrong, Michael Collings and Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. aboard the aircraft carrier USS Hornet. As he placed his foot on the moon, Neil Armstrong said, That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.
I was astonished to learn, when I wanted to grab the link to the website that the National Presidential Wax Museum Keystone SD is temporarily closed until March 10, 2023! I have no idea why. But this is such a worthwhile museum, in an area jam packed with fabulous attractions, that I urge you to plan a trip there when it reopens. Plus, it’s probably way too cold in South Dakota until Spring anyway. LOL
We have only 5 state to go!
South Dakota is on the map!!! Only 5 states to go.
Yes that is true! By the time we get back to the east coast we will have every single state filled in on our map. But our journey is, by no means, over!!!
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