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All the United States Louisiana New Orleans The Conti Wax Museum
The Conti Wax Museum is permanently closed.

This entry remains in the Atlas as a record of its history, but it is no longer accessible to visitors.

The Conti Wax Museum

An old-timey wax exhibition campily depicting New Orleans legends and scandals.

New Orleans, Louisiana

Added By
Laetitia Barbier
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The Battle of NOLA   Kyllie Miller
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LaLaurie’s torture chamber exhibit.   © Tammy Mercure
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About

These days, wax museums don't draw a ton of attention. Often expensive, overridden with tourists, and too singularly focused on pop celebrities.

But two centuries ago, the real Madame Tussaud popularized wax portrait exhibitions during the French Revolution, and they were far more morbid and intriguing than any wax Elvis could hope to be.

Tussaud cast death masks of French martyrs and villains during the revolution due to her unique privilege: she had access to the guillotine's "backstage."

Her talent and vision with wax displays allowed the form to become one of the most popular types of education and entertainment in her era. The evocation of past and present through a lifelike three-dimensional display created an immersive way to experience history, and patrons of the time found it irresistible.

Unfortunately, as almost all of her creations were subsequently destroyed by fire or shuffled away into private collections, the old-timey wax museum and its uncanny tableaux all but disappeared as a public attraction, except in a handful of cities where local history is odd and quirky enough to make use of the medium and there are those who still enjoy it.

New Orleans, of course, is just such a town.

As such, the Conti Wax Museum is present in full force, depicting 300 years of legends and scandals. Located in the heart the French Quarter, the Conti Wax Museum has been labeled “New Orleans' best kept secret,” and it has survived for decades, offering a life-size portrayal of Louisiana's heyday.

The secret? For a small price, several generations of curious visitors and locals have wandered through its set of picturesque renditions and battlefield dioramas. From Marie Lavaux and her voodoo ceremonies to naked Napoleon in his bathtub (probably meditating on the Louisiana Purchase), to cruel socialite Delphine LaLaurie torturing her servants, the Conti Museum provides the uncanny wax museum experience that inspired expressionist cinema. Campy, joyfully spooky and dated, the museum still provides a bizarre beauty that you probably won't find in any of its more modern competitors. 

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Museums And Collections Collections Purveyors Of Curiosities Lost Wonders

Know Before You Go

Unfortunately, the Conti Wax Museum no longer exists.

Community Contributors

Added By

Laetitia Barbier

Edited By

Tammy Mercure, BrooksNYC, thelibyandesert

  • Tammy Mercure
  • BrooksNYC
  • thelibyandesert

Published

February 7, 2013

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The Conti Wax Museum
917 Conti Street
New Orleans, Louisiana, 70112
United States
29.957415, -90.068899
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Nearby Places

Musical Legends Park

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Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of New Orleans

New Orleans

Louisiana

Places 106
Stories 24

Nearby Places

Musical Legends Park

New Orleans, Louisiana

miles away

Museum of Death

New Orleans, Louisiana

miles away

Jean Lafitte's Old Absinthe House

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miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of New Orleans

New Orleans

Louisiana

Places 106
Stories 24

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