Madame Tussauds Wax Museum
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
Madame Tussauds is an interactive experience that allows visitors of all kinds the chance to walk through American history. Wax figures of major political figures all the way to current pop stars allows for anyone to enjoy their experience in the museum. You can sail with George Washington, meet the other 44 presidents, or hang out with your favorite celebrities like Taylor Swift and Jimmy Fallon.
Images
The real Jimmy Fallon amongst his wax counterparts.
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
Madame Tussaud was born Marie Grosholtz in 1761 in Strasbourg. In 1780, she becomes the art tutor for King Louis XVI's sister and lives in the Royal Court in Versailles. She returns to Paris and is imprisoned in 1793. After being released, she has to prove her allegiance by creating death masks of nobles and the King and Queen, who were her former employers. After the French Revolution ends, she gains ownership of a wax exhibition that once belonged to Dr. Phillipe Curtis. Marie gets married to Francios Tussaud in 1795, officially becoming Madame Tussaud.
In 1802, Madame Tussaud takes her wax show on the road with her sons to Britain. They settle into a permanent establishment in London and create the 'Separate Room' where there are detailed, gruesome exhibitions of the French Revolution. This was the main attraction of her shop up until her death in 1850. Years go by and her remaining family and their children open up many different exhibitions worldwide. The Washington settlement was the third one opened in the United States in 2007.
Sources
200 years of Extraordinary History. (n.d.). Retrieved December 04, 2017, from https://www.madametussauds.com/washington-dc/en/about/about-us/
Madame Tussauds Washington, DC. (2017, November 07). Retrieved December 04, 2017, from https://washington.org/find-dc-listings/madame-tussauds-washington-dc