Geppi's Entertainment Museum
| Geppi's Entertainment Museum | |
|---|---|
| Established | September 8, 2006 |
| Location | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Director | Melissa Geppi-Bowersox (executive vice-president) |
| Website | Official website |
Geppi's Entertainment Museum is a 16,000-square-foot (1,500 m2) privately owned pop culture museum located in Baltimore, Maryland. The museum chronicles the history of pop culture in America from the 17th century to today as made popular in newspapers, magazines, comic books, movies, television, radio and video games. It features a large and varied collection of pop culture memorabilia, including comic books, movie posters, toys, buttons, badges, cereal boxes, trading cards, dolls, figurines and many other items. The museum is located in downtown Baltimore's historic Camden Station, directly above Sports Legends at Camden Yards and adjacent to Oriole Park at Camden Yards (part of the Camden Yards Sports Complex).
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[edit] Background
The museum is owned by Stephen A. Geppi, President and CEO of Diamond Comics Distributors. The majority of the exhibits come from Geppi's private collection. In 2007, Geppi's daughter Melissa "Missy" Geppi-Bowersox became the executive vice-president of the museum, and handles the management of the facility. She replaced former executive director Wendy Kelman, who left the museum on August 31, 2007 to start her own tourism consulting firm.[1] The museum's curator is Dr. Arnold T. Blumberg, former editor at Gemstone Publishing.
[edit] Exhibits
The museum is composed of several galleries devoted to different eras of pop culture, as well as one gallery hosting special exhibitions. The standing galleries are:
- A Story in Four Colors displays a large collection of rare and first-issue comic books, with displays by chronology and by theme and cultural implication. It also includes an extensive collection of pulp magazines and Big Little Books. Scanned copies of vintage comic books can be viewed on touch screen monitors.
- Pioneer Spirit looks at the early history (1776–1894) of toys in the United States, as well as The Brownies, the first toys marketed as pop culture.
- Extra, Extra covers the years 1895-1927, and features characters made popular in newspapers such as The Yellow Kid, Buster Brown, the Katzenjammer Kids, and their importance in social commentary.
- When Heroes Unite displays character collectibles from the Great Depression until World War II, including Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters, Popeye, Superman, Captain Marvel, Dick Tracy, Tom Mix, Gene Autry, The Lone Ranger and other heroic figures.
- America Tunes In looks at the emergence of television and the important themes and figures from 1946 to 1960, including Howdy Doody, Disney television shows, I Love Lucy, sports heroes, space and western shows and children's shows.
- Revolution discusses the changes in American culture from 1961 to 1970 as seen in popular culture, such as James Bond and other spy shows and movies, The Flintstones, the change in popularity of superheroes such as Batman and The Green Hornet, Star Trek, the impact of British rock bands such as The Beatles, and popular toys like Barbie and G.I. Joe.
- Expanding Universe features the shift to new technologies from 1971 to 1990, such as video games and computers from Atari and Nintendo, as well as fast food franchises, such as McDonald's. There is a large collection of Star Wars merchandise.
- Going Global looks at current movies, television and Internet pop culture figures from 1991 up to the present.
[edit] Awards and recognition
- Winner of Nickelodeon's 2009 ParentsConnect.com Parents' Picks Award for Best Kid Museum.
- Winner of Nickelodeon's 2008 ParentsConnect.com Parents' Picks Award for Best Teen Museum.
- Baltimore City Paper 's GEM Best NonArt Museum, 2007.
[edit] In popular culture
The museum is featured in the 2008 Free Comic Book Day edition of Archie Comics Archie's Pal Jughead. The story, "Night at the Entertainment Museum," involves Archie and Jughead getting a job as night watchmen at the museum. Owner Steve Geppi and curator Arnold T. Blumberg also appear in the story.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Dash, Julehka (2007-09-14). "Geppi's daughter takes reins of his new museum". Baltimore Business Journal. http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2007/09/17/story5.html. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
[edit] External links
- Museum Website
- Diamond Newsletter
- Curators Blog
- New York Times museum review
- Baltimore Sun museum review
