Royal London Wax Museum To Close September 19th

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Current Events Chatboard

Royal London Wax Museum To Close September 19th

by Bickey

Sep 1, 2010

Seismic upgrade, lease arrangements will mean

wax sculptures end up stored at Saanich site

Gordie Howe, Queen Elizabeth and Grumpy Dwarf will take their stoic poses from the sunshine of the Inner Harbour, to storage units in Saanich.

Rumours that pegged new locations for the Royal London Wax Museum have proven false and the museum will not relocate in time to open for summer 2011. According to owner Ken Lane, the wax figures may not see the light of day for another three years, if they ever again see light at all.

“It may happen, it may not happen, but it will be a process of years, not a process of months,” he said. “We have looked at the Greater Victoria area and looked up Island – Nanaimo, Parksville, Coombs. The options are wide open at this point, but so far the cost of getting re-established is a little too high considering the tourists.”

Seismic upgrades to the 86-year-old CPR Steamship Terminal building, where the museum ...See MoreSeismic upgrade, lease arrangements will mean

wax sculptures end up stored at Saanich site

Gordie Howe, Queen Elizabeth and Grumpy Dwarf will take their stoic poses from the sunshine of the Inner Harbour, to storage units in Saanich.

Rumours that pegged new locations for the Royal London Wax Museum have proven false and the museum will not relocate in time to open for summer 2011. According to owner Ken Lane, the wax figures may not see the light of day for another three years, if they ever again see light at all.

“It may happen, it may not happen, but it will be a process of years, not a process of months,” he said. “We have looked at the Greater Victoria area and looked up Island – Nanaimo, Parksville, Coombs. The options are wide open at this point, but so far the cost of getting re-established is a little too high considering the tourists.”

Seismic upgrades to the 86-year-old CPR Steamship Terminal building, where the museum is currently housed, will soon put an end to the museum’s 50-year reign as one of Victoria’s most popular tourist attractions.

Lane suggests that Provincial Capital Commission administrators have made negotiating lease terms more difficult than it had to be. With no promise of an extension past 2013 and earthquake-proofing not projected to be finished until 2011, Lane’s projected start-up costs of between $500,000 to $1 million was more than he believes he could recoup with two years left on the lease.

“The managers of public administration don’t seem to see the light and we don’t get the (same) support from the administration we get from the locals,” Lane said. “The problem they have now is that none of the tenants they have now will be coming back. That should tell people at the capital commission that they should have some concerns about how their properties are being managed.”

Commission CEO Ray Parks believes contrary to Lane’s comments, he and the commission made every effort to facilitate a smooth transition considering the circumstances.

“I worked very closely with the folks at the Wax Museum to identify alternative locations, potential business partners or buyers, whatever it was that would suit them,” Parks said.

“Negotiating a new lease without all the information in hand is a very difficult thing to do. It is just not something that I can do in a public facility at this time. Whenever that time is down the road and I have the better information, I am happy to deal with Ken or whoever comes along.”

Sunday, Sept. 19 is the last day wax figures depicting many of the world’s most popular personalities will be on display in Victoria.

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