Marx Toy Museum News
For over FIFTEEN years, the Marx Toy Museum has stood in tribute to one of the PREMIER TOY MANUFACTURERS of the 20th century – a vibrant memorial to the life’s work of Louis and David Marx.
While interest in the colorful, and iconic Marx toy brand remains very high, and the museum receives daily visitors from all over the country, the unfortunate reality is that guest admissions and annual memberships have not achieved the levels necessary to provide sustainable operations at the current facility.
After years of dedicated service to the local community, and vintage toy collecting aficionados everywhere, the Marx Toy Museum’s physical location, in Moundsville, West Virginia, will close its doors permanently, on June 30th, 2016.
However, the federally-recognized non-profit 501(c)3 Marx Toy Museum organization, with its board of directors, will continue to guide the Mission originally set forth. The museum will remain dedicated to preserving the history and cultural significance of the Louis Marx toy company, and the iconic toys it produced, as well as, the passion and genius of company founders, Louis & David Marx; and the dedicated creative input of the men and women who spent their working days bringing the toys to life.
As a board, we have gathered multiple times, brainstormed many ideas, and pursued new sources of revenue, although unsuccessfully – ultimately deciding the next BEST STEP for the organization. We have worked to set some REALISTIC, ACHIEVABLE GOALS that the board believes will allow for the continued mission of serving as a monument to the history of Marx toys.
In order to pursue a broader audience, primarily via the Internet, and social media, the board of directors has voted to redirect all future funding and developmental efforts toward expansion and enhancement of the museum’s web site, and in seeking opportunities for featured traveling displays on Marx toys, exhibited throughout the country.
Limited Operation of the Brick-and-Mortar Marx Toy Museum
The Marx Toy Museum will open on April 1st and will continue normal hours through June 30th, 2016. For those who have been here many times, and for those who have never visited, we offer this final opportunity to take a farewell “Brick and Mortar” tour of the physical museum.
In addition, the Marx Toy Museum will hold THREE major events: a “Community Day” in April, “Marx Employee Day” in May, and a “Celebration of Marx” event in June in conjunction with the museum’s Members’ Day events.
While the museum building closure might understandably disappoint some, we encourage you to share our EXCITEMENT as we look forward to new opportunities for the Marx Toy Museum organization to expand its reach, and continue its mission.
Visit the Marx Toy Museum website to learn more – MarxToyMuseum.com
Sincerely,
Jason Turner
Marx Toy Museum, President
Board of Directors
Jason Turner, President
Glenn Ridenour, Vice President
David Flatley, Treasurer
Francis Turner
Sad,every year less.
Later generation would see and learn less. Any how I thank all for the great effort and dedication till now.
In 2012 the wood toy museum in NYC close the doors too. In 2014 Forbes toy gallery and museum with over 14 000 toy soldiers(metal,composition,tin-most) and 300 ships plus many more was close down and put to auction. I manage to visit it many times and was the best ever dedicated to toy soldiers as well naval battles I had seen;it was awesome. Yet not a single school promote any of then at all. Even with the places sending advertising for free entrance all year around..
Education system boycott the culture of toy soldiers and any related all time, is a fact.
I call it forced ignorance!!
I agree Erwin, this is a big piece of Americana going to disappear. An entire generation grew up and were influenced by the imagination of Louis Marx. A big piece of our cultural history that celebrated our history – and the history of the world.
I feel sorry for Francis & Jason Turner who put so much effort into making the Marx Museum something which truly honored the subject. I hadn’t ever actually had an opportunity to visit in person, but recently acquired Rusty Kern’s “Return to Glendale” DVD, which provided first a tour of the closed-down Marx factory, and then a second film devoted to the new museum which had just opened. It looked like a nice place.
I notice on the Dealer List of the Midwest Toy Soldier Show next weekend that Francis Turner will be present. If I perceive that it’s not a subject too painful for him to talk about, I plan on expressing my appreciation for his efforts.
Sad news. I have visited the museum four times with my boys. When we would buy items in the gift store/ restaurant the boys would choose Marx logo cups or frisbee discs, not figures. Definitely a generational difference.
If you can make it before June 30 it is worth the trip. The museum is laid out in a nice format. There are all the best playsets displayed, along with many rare prototypes. Drinking a bottle of Coke in the 50s-themed restaurant after the visit is also a nice experience. Moundsville is located along the Ohio River. You van go see the old Marx factory. There is also a large Hopewell Indian burial mound in the middle of town. Tours of the old West Virginia Penitentary, a Victorian-style castle, are always interesting.
Let’s hope the Kruger Street Museum can continue to carry the banner.
I treat every toy soldier show like a poor mans museum. While you can’t see everything displayed all pretty, you can see most of the items you might see in the museum in individual rooms or tables. Those of you that don’t attend toy soldier shows, big one, shoul really make the effort if possible, especially OTSN. Every year we even put on a kid on Christmas morning segement, where Craig Remington is gracious enough to open one of his MIB sets. Most of the dealers are like live museum exhibits. It’s really an experience that all serious collectors should undertake once in their lives.
I too am sorry to hear about the Marx museum closure. I have never been able to visit there but took out memberships and made donations to support it. Marx is representative of many of my best childhood memories and those of all the kids I knew. I am, however not surprised to hear of its closure, those toys are simply not what kids relate to now (or for the last 2 decades at least). Many of today’s children would not even know how to have fun with them. There are a few kids in my neighborhood who have seen my stuff and have become interested enough to set up battles and play them out when I arrange for it. However I feel that the novelty of forts, castles, mass armies and the like are what actually interests them. Otherwise they would likely be doing the same sort of active imaginative play with PVC superheroes or WWF figures. The electronic “toys” of present generations also attract the majority of their attention when they get past the action figure phase. They see no westerns, war shows or other history shows on TV. Nor are they exposed to movies like ZULU, Longest Day, High Noon, etc. like we were. I also sense that there is simply no way to re – attract children to toy soldiers as we know them. I do find that when I give kids a bag of knights, they are interested for a while, and their parents are delighted at their use of imagination. But without friends with similar sets and interests, they are left ‘in the dust’ by those with the more sophisticated toys. And of course the reason we have actual collections is because they were our toys when we were children. Most of us did not COLLECT them as kids, we played with them, chewed them, blew them up, etc. As adults we nowlove them as collectors.
ANYWAY, enough rambling, …it is a shame to see such places close down. It is inevitable though, so we need to enjoy our interaction with such toys wherever, and whenever we can. At shows, at flea markets, and, of course, in these discussions.