If you love Barbie and are in NE Wisconsin you are in for a treat. At the North End of Sturgeon Bay, just as you are about to enter Door County, is the Collector Showcase which houses one of the largest collections of Barbie Dolls you are ever likely to see in one place.
A Historic Collection, going back to some, if not all of the original Barbies, it spans decades of Barbie in just about every configuration made with over 1,500 Barbie Dolls + accessories. The museum hosts another 1,000 antique toys and dolls.
This by itself would be worth the trip, but knowing that not everyone in your party would be Barbie-centric, the Showcase has two other collections.
First, 45 antique sports cars from different eras are arranged around an elevated wooden walkway that lets you get a very good look inside.
Next, a room filled with working, moving holiday window displays, many of them from Marshall Fields in Chicago. They contain over 500 animated window display characters, moving, turning and dancing in their original settings as close to what you would have seen on State Street as possible. A must for anyone interested in the early history of animatronics and moving dolls.They are quite fun and range from antique to more modern years, all in all it is quite a show.
When we last visited the collector showcase, the admission was extremely reasonable. It has been a few years so you may want to check but my guess is that admission will be the least of your costs, especially as theGift shop has Barbies and other collectibles. The Showcase is Open 9 to 5, mid-May to mid-October. Special arrangements might be possilble for large groups.
The Collector Showcase is run by the Chal-A Motel located at the intersection of Highways 42 and 57. Going North it will be the Gnome infested hotel on your right. Worry not, they are only to keep Ken at bay. With 1,500 Barbies you can imagine the population explosion nightmare if uncontrolled Kens were allowed to sneak in and out at night!
The Motel itself is cheap but good, with good serice, no pool or restaurant, but a very good diner across the road and a fancier excellent and not pricy restaurant up the road a bit. You'll want to stay there until you have done your Barbie Bit, then you can trundle up for all the fun in Door County.
This was a completly unexpeced surprise for us, as non-collectors. We were stunned by the comprehensive nature of the exhibit.There may be bigger collections, but unlikely one that is so folksy and so much fun. And, you have got to see those Christmas store windows.
1,500 Barbies at Collectors Showcase in Wisconsin
If you love Barbie and are in NE Wisconsin you are in for a treat. At the North End of Sturgeon Bay, just as you are about to enter Door County, is the Collector Showcase which houses one of the largest collections of Barbie Dolls you are ever likely to see in one place.
A Historic Collection, going back to some, if not all of the original Barbies, it spans decades of Barbie in just about every configuration made with over 1,500 Barbie Dolls + accessories. The museum hosts another 1,000 antique toys and dolls.
This by itself would be worth the trip, but knowing that not everyone in your party would be Barbie-centric, the Showcase has two other collections.
First, 45 antique sports cars from different eras are arranged around an elevated wooden walkway that lets you get a very good look inside.
Next, a room filled with working, moving holiday window displays, many of them from Marshall Fields in Chicago. They contain over 500 animated window display characters, moving, turning and dancing in their original settings as close to what you would have seen on State Street as possible. A must for anyone interested in the early history of animatronics and moving dolls.They are quite fun and range from antique to more modern years, all in all it is quite a show.
When we last visited the collector showcase, the admission was extremely reasonable. It has been a few years so you may want to check but my guess is that admission will be the least of your costs, especially as theGift shop has Barbies and other collectibles. The Showcase is Open 9 to 5, mid-May to mid-October. Special arrangements might be possilble for large groups.
The Collector Showcase is run by the Chal-A Motel located at the intersection of Highways 42 and 57. Going North it will be the Gnome infested hotel on your right. Worry not, they are only to keep Ken at bay. With 1,500 Barbies you can imagine the population explosion nightmare if uncontrolled Kens were allowed to sneak in and out at night!
The Motel itself is cheap but good, with good serice, no pool or restaurant, but a very good diner across the road and a fancier excellent and not pricy restaurant up the road a bit. You'll want to stay there until you have done your Barbie Bit, then you can trundle up for all the fun in Door County.
This was a completly unexpeced surprise for us, as non-collectors. We were stunned by the comprehensive nature of the exhibit.There may be bigger collections, but unlikely one that is so folksy and so much fun. And, you have got to see those Christmas store windows.
Ho, Ho, Ho.
Collector Showcase, (At Chal-A Motel)
3910 Hwy 42/57, (920)743-6788
**************************************************
When I feel down I blog away in hopes of making someone else's day.
Peter, Chief Cook and Spell Wrecker
The Peter Files Blog of Comedy