Monday, February 29, 2016

Defunct halls of fame: Celebrity lingerie, Barbie dolls, cockroaches

Not every hall of fame stands the test of time. Some that open physical museums close up shop for financial or other reasons.
Several halls that have shuttered are looking for new homes for their collections (including the Vocal Group Hall of Fame and the National Barber Museum and Hall of Fame.)
What follows are four notable halls of fame that have closed.

Celebrity Lingerie Hall of Fame

Frederick’s of Hollywood, a retailer of women’s lingerie, used to exhibit a collection of underwear worn by Hollywood movie stars at its store on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles. The Celebrity Lingerie Hall of Fame went into storage when the retailer closed that flagship store in 2005. Items formerly on display included a black and gold bustier worn by Madonna in concert and Natalie Wood’s bra from “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice.”

Related articles:

Frederick’s of Hollywood Celebrity Lingerie Hall of Fame (Seeing Stars)

Frederick’s uplifting museum is dismantled (Los Angeles Times; Dec. 19, 2006)

Frederick’s of Hollywood Has Undies of the Rich and Famous (Wall Street Journal; May 22, 2015)

Frederick’s of Hollywood Cancels Auction, Likely to Sell Brand to Authentic (Wall Street Journal; May 28, 2015)

Barbie Hall of Fame

The Barbie Hall of Fame in Palo Alto, Calif., shut down in 1999, the victim of rising rents in Silicon Valley. Toymaker Mattel swooped in an bought the collection, which included more than 21,000 Barbies, Skippers and Kens.

Related articles:

Evicted Barbie: Museum owner who lost Palo Alto lease finds lanky doll has lots of friends (SF Gate; March 25, 1999)

Barbie Hall of Fame Homeless in Palo Alto (SF Gate; April 6, 1999)

Mattel Purchases Barbie Hall of Fame Barbie Doll Collection (PR Newswire; April 20, 1999)

Cockroach Hall of Fame

One kitschy tourist attraction was the Cockroach Hall of Fame Museum in Plano, Texas. Part of a pest control business, the hall of fame featured dioramas with dead cockroaches such as “Marilyn Monroach,” Liberoachi, “David Letteroach” and the “Bates Roach Motel.”
It shut down in 2012 when the owner of the business sold it and moved to Phoenix, according to Roadside America.
(See other articles on the attraction by Legends of America and the New York Daily News.)

Energizer Keep Going Hall of Fame

In 2006, battery company Energizer announced the creation of the Energizer Keep Going Hall of Fame. Its first “Keep Going” inductee was baseball great Cal Ripken, Jr., who set the all-time record for consecutive games played.
The Keep Going Hall of Fame was located at Energizer corporate headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri. One thing that apparently didn’t keep going and going was the hall of fame itself.
The website for the hall of fame now leads to a “Page not found” error page.
I can find references to Keep Going Hall of Fame activities in 2006 through 2011, but nothing since. (Here are press releases from 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011.)
The last induction into the Energizer Keep Going Hall of Fame appears to have been in June 2011.

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