*Originally published May 1, 2021 as a promotional piece. Some information may be missing
There are 33 Ripley's Believe It or Not! museums across North America, but did you know that none of them were opened during Robert Ripley's lifetime? Or that the original and first odditorium is located in St. Augustine, Florida? My first visit to a Ripley's Odditorium was during my most recent trip to the Oldest City, and it piqued my curiosity about the history of the building and of Ripley himself.
Castle Warden, shown above, was built in 1887 by William G. Warden of Philadelphia as a winter home. It's an imposing four stories of poured concrete Moorish revival architecture. Warden himself was partners with Henry Flagler and John D. Rockefeller in the Standard Oil Company, the president of the St. Augustine Gas & Electric Light Company, and the financial director of the St. Augustine Improvement Company. Because of Warden's wealth and influence, the castle home was a center of winter social events during his life and ownership.
The castle remained in the Warden family until 1941 until it was purchased by Norman Baskin and his wife Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, author of "The Yearling" and "Cross Creek." The couple lived on the top floor of the castle for a time, and renovated the lower floors into a posh hotel. It was during this time that Robert Ripley stayed at the hotel several times, repeatedly attempting to buy the hotel. He was unsuccessful in his endeavors before he died in 1949, but his estate was able to purchase Castle Warden in 1950, and on December 25, the first and original Ripley's Believe it or Not! Odditorium opened its doors.
Robert Ripley was born in Santa Rosa, California around 1890. He dropped out of school to support his family when his father died, and at age 16 he was drawing sports cartoons for San Francisco newspapers. In 1913, he moved to New York and continued his career as a sports cartoonist, and in 1918 he showcased some sports oddities in his first Believe It or Not! cartoon.
His cartoons grew in popularity, and by 1923, his Believe It or Not! series moved to the New York Post. In 1929, his feature was picked up by King Features Syndicate, and Believe It or Not! began appearing in more than 300 newspapers across the United States.
Ripley claimed to have visited 198 countries in his lifetime. He showcased "true life" oddities from his travels around the world in his books of sketches, a series of Believe It or Not! short films, radio programs, and travelling carnival-type exhibits that he called "Odditoriums."
The Castle Warden Odditorium is a must-see, and I'm ashamed to say that I visited St. Augustine a number of times before making it a stop on our last trip. You won't be disappointed. Starting with the grounds outside the castle, there are a number of things to check out which don't require the price of admission, which include: Massacre Anchor, which was pulled from Matanzas Bay; a section of tree that when it was cut down, was carved into an apartment, where someone actually lived (you can walk inside); a giant bronco made out of car bumpers; and Michaelangelo's "David," one of the only two copies in the world carved to the exact specifications of the original.
The museum itself houses three stories of curious and unusual exhibits from around the world, including Robert Ripley's personal collection. You'll find unusual artwork crafted from unlikely materials, like jelly beans, toasted bread, and even beetles; fortune telling machines including Zoltar, like the one from "Big" with Tom Hanks; shrunken heads; two-headed animals; torture devices; P.T. Barnum's 1842 hoax, the Feejee Mermaid; and so much more than I could begin to mention here. On my last visit there was a very large, very real, very alive tarantula (in an enclosed container, of course) which I would be extremely happy never to see again, although my stepson seemed significantly less bothered by its presence.
As if all this weren't enough, Castle Warden also has its own ghost story, like so many other places in the Oldest City. On April 23, 1944, two women died in a fire on the the 3rd and 4th floors. As the story goes, the fire started on the 3rd floor due to a lit cigarette. The occupant in Room 17 called for a bellboy who emptied a fire extinguisher and went to find another. By the time he returned, the flames were coming from under the door and had spread to the hallway and up to the 4th floor. The women were both killed, but their bodies were untouched by the flames as a result of their using wet towels to protect themselves from the fumes. The woman in Room 17 was found in her bathtub, and the woman in the 4th floor penthouse was found on the floor of her bathroom. The women are said to haunt the castle.
In addition to regular museum tours, Ripley's also runs the Red Train Tour with stops all over St. Augustine, as well as a Haunted Castle Investigation experience. All of this information as well as booking options are available on their website.
Ripley's Believe It or Not! Odditorium
19 San Marco Avenue
St. Augustine, FL 32084
904-824-1606
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