Travel Guide

Lax Parking and the Hollywood Wax Museum

Have you ever wondering where in Hollywood you can get up close and personal with your favorite movie stars? Imagine no crowds, bodyguards! In fact, you can just go up to them an take a picture! This special place is the Hollywood Wax Museum! As a Johnny Park Indoor LAX Parking Garage client, you will have a great time admiring the life-like figures knowing that your car is safe and in good hands!

Facts about the Hollywood Wax Museum

The Hollywood Wax Museum was opened in 1966 in the heart of the tourist district of Hollywood, California. It is the only wax museum dedicated solely to celebrities! Lax parking customers like yourself will enjoy the 220 wax figures of media stars, fictional characters, and famous politicians. There is even a Chambers of Horrors (optional)! Although some figures are better than others, come and pick out your favorite ones! A sign outside the museum warns Lax parking customers that the Chamber of Horrors is haunted! Many years ago, this was a site of business that burned down and killed an employee who was sleeping on the job!

How Wax Figures are Made

Before leaving the LAX parking lot and heading over to the Hollywood Wax Museum, you should know how these lifelike figures were made! First the talented sculptor begins his/her project with a common lump of clay and many photographs along with the actual measurements of the subject. Then the finished clay head forms a plaster mold where a molten mixture of natural and petroleum based waxes are carefully poured and swirled inside the mold until it is evenly coated with 2 inches of wax. While the head hardens, the sculptor creates accompanying body parts (ie: hands and arms) that resemble the subject's very own. Once the head hardens, a special needle is used for a time consuming job of inserting human hair one strand at a time (including eyebrows, lashes and facial hair). Then medical glass eyes are secured in place and porcelain teeth are positioned one by one to duplicate the subject's dental characteristics. Finally, a thin layer of translucent pain is applied to create a lifelike skin tone. Lastly the finished head is placed on the life-size body and any accompanying body parts are attached.

Features

The wide range of celebrity figures in the Hollywood Wax Museum makes it worth the trip to Lax Parking! Here you will find sections devoted to Western heroes such as John Wayne and Clint Eastwood. You will also find a popular section of pop music idols such as the Beatles, Elton John and Elvis! US Presidents such as Ronal Regan and John Kennedy can also be seen. Amongst the recent additions, you will find figures from Harry Potter, Spiderman, Xena, Hercules and more! Also look out for stars such as Harrison Ford, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Julia Roberts! The Chamber of Horrors is not recommended for children, but those brave enough will encounter famous movie monsters such as Dracula and Frankenstein!

Other interesting information

Did you know that wax sculptors used more than 150 studio pictures as a resource to reproduce Russell Crowe's Gladiator costume? The Hollywood Wax Museum also exhibits actual star clothing such as Michael Jackson's "bad" jacket and belt, Hugh Hefner's pajamas and Jay Leno's suit! Original movie items such as the costume and mask from Halloween III and Uncle Fester's bed of nails from the Addams Family can be found in the Chamber of Horrors!

Getting there

The Hollywood Wax Museum is located a block and a half east of Grauman's Chinese Theatre on the north side of Hollywood Boulevard (east of Highland Avenue). LAX parking customers coming from Hollywood and Vine can go west on Hollywood Boulevard and find the museum on their right side.