The well-known Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museums are a popular part of American vacation culture
The well-known Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Museums are a popular part of American vacation culture. Noted for their bizarre collections of unusual and sometimes macabre artifacts, they can be found in locations such as Key West, Panama City Beach, Branson, Myrtle Beach, Gatlinburg, San Francisco and New York.
The museum that started it all, however, can be found in the historic Warden Castle in St.Augustine, Florida.
Built in 1887 as the winter home of William G. Warden, a business partner of John D. Rockefeller and Henry Flagler, the castle is a noteworthy landmark from the post-Civil War era in St. Augustine.
The unique Moorish Revival architecture of the castle and its sheer size made it one of the most striking private residences in the city. A focus for winter activity, it was owned by the Warden family through the 1930s.
In 1941 the castle was remodeled as a hotel and hosted many prominent visitors. The famed novelist Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (author of The Yearling, Cross Creek, and South Moon Under) and her husband owned it and had an apartment on the top floor.
The hotel was also a favorite for Robert S. Ripley, the newspaper cartoonist, writer and researcher made famous by his Believe It or Not! cartoons that ran in newspapers around the world. Becoming convinced that the castle would be an ideal home for a museum displaying his discoveries and collection of artifacts, Ripley tried unsuccessfully to purchase the structure.
Following his death in 1949, however, his heirs finally managed to secure the estate and in December of 1950 the nation's first Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum opened in St. Augustine.
Today the museum is filled with thousands of oddities, ranging from an Egyptian mummified cat to the world's largest moving erector set. The unique architecture of the historic castle, however, has been preserved and it remains an imposing sight.
In addition to its collection of unusual artifacts and stunning architecture, Warden Castle is also a focal point for ghost hunters.
Ripley's operates a "ghost train" that departs the castle nightly and takes visitors to some of the supposedly haunted locations in St. Augustine. Among these are the Fountain of Youth Park grounds and a historic cemetery.
The tour concludes, however, at Warden Castle where guides tell a variety of stories about alleged supernatural events. Visitors are then taken on a somewhat chilling low light tour through the castle at night and encouraged to take photographs to see if anything "strange" develops. Orbs and
unusual streaks of light are the common results.
Tour trains also depart the castle throughout the day, taking visitors to a variety of stops throughout the nation's oldest city. Operated by Ripley's, they are popular with tourists. Several other companies provide similar services.
The Warden Castle is located at the intersection of Castillo Drive and San Marco Avenue in St. Augustine, a couple of blocks north of the Old City Gate.
https://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/
Free
19.99 USD
Children (4-11): 9.99 USD
Children under 4: free
WC
staugustine@ripleys.com
- It houses a museum
- Dogs are allowed
- Museum shop