Ripley's Triumphant Return to New York!

Ripley's Believe It or Not!(R) Odditorium to Open in Times Square

Odditorium to House World's Largest Collection of Shrunken Heads on

Display, Babe Ruth's Baseball Uniform and a 3,197 Pound Meteorite!

    NEW YORK, May 24 /PRNewswire/ -- New York City will welcome back the
 spirit of Robert Ripley next month with the opening of Ripley's Believe It
 or Not!(R) Times Square Odditorium. The opening marks the return of Ripley
 to New York, his home for more than 30 years, and to the city that proved
 that truth can be stranger than fiction. Ripley's Times Square will house
 the ultimate in the odd and bizarre, as well as items that are truly New
 York ranging from 24 shrunken heads to a section of the Berlin Wall, a
 3,197 lb. meteorite and Babe Ruth's "Believe It or Not's" New York team
 baseball uniform. The Odditorium officially opens on June 21.
     "New York City is one of the most amazing cities in the world and it's
 easy to see why Robert Ripley made the Big Apple his home," said Bob
 Masterson, President, Ripley Entertainment Inc. "We are thrilled to bring
 Believe It or Not! back to the city where, in 1918, Ripley coined that now
 famous phrase. Ripley's Times Square Odditorium will house the greatest
 collection of unbelievable odd and unusual items ever assembled under one
 roof, from this world and beyond! This fantastic collection captures the
 essence of Mr. Ripley, the eccentric collector who proved to the world that
 truth could indeed be stranger than fiction."
     Robert Ripley's New York
     Robert Leroy Ripley, an icon in the world of cartoon art, the first
 person to be elected to the Trivia Hall of Fame, and the founder of an
 entertainment empire based on the premise that "truth can be stranger than
 fiction," first came to New York from San Francisco in 1913 at the age of
 23. Working as an illustrator in San Francisco, Ripley was encouraged by
 his friend Jack London to go to New York and pursue his baseball dream or
 at least make more money from his drawings. He landed a job as an
 illustrator with the New York Globe and in 1914 he tried out for the New
 York Giants - and made the team! Unfortunately, in his very first game with
 the Giants, he broke his pitching arm. With his baseball career over,
 Ripley returned to his job at the Globe and to living a full and rich New
 York City life including marrying a Ziegfeld Follies showgirl, living in a
 28-room stone mansion on a private island off Mamaroneck and hosting grand
 parties during prohibition that would dazzle even the most jaded New
 Yorker.
     The Ripley's Times Square Highlights
     Like the Ripley's Believe It or Not! Attractions around the globe, each
 item inside Ripley's Times Square will appeal to man's basic curiosity and
 desire to know more about this world ... and New York City. Guests will
 find only authentic, original and unbelievable exhibits in the Times Square
 odditorium, including locks of hair that belonged to Elvis Presley, John
 Fitzgerald Kennedy and George Washington, Ripley's collection of Olympic
 torches, and animal oddities including a two-headed calf, a six-legged cow
 and an albino giraffe! Some other key exhibits will include:
     Shrunken Heads
     The Museum will feature Ripley's collection of 24 shrunken heads that
 were the spoils of war for the Jivaro Indians of Ecuador. Believe it or
 not, Ripley's Times Square will boast more shrunken heads on display than
 the American Museum of Natural History.
     "The Believe It or Not's" Baseball Uniforms
     On May 5, 1939 in Madison Square Garden, Robert Ripley led a band of
 celebrities called the "Believe It or Not's" to the plate against an
 equally elite team called the Nine Old Men, led by radio and newspaper
 journalist Lowell Thomas, to benefit the Boys Club of New York. In total,
 more than 60 celebrities played for the two teams, including two of the
 greatest baseball players of all time, pitcher Walter Johnson, and heavy
 hitter Babe Ruth. Also playing for Ripley's team were boxing champion Jack
 Dempsey, comedians Jimmy Durante, Bugs Baer and W. C. Fields, actors George
 Raft and Al Jolson, World War I Hero and founder of Eastern Airlines, Eddie
 Rickenbacker, and billionaire William Randolph Hearst, Jr.
     3,197-lb. Meteorite
     Found in Guangxi, Nantan County, China in 1958, Ripley's Times Square
 Odditorium will house a giant 3,197-lb. meteorite that fell to earth during
 the Ming Dynasty on June 11, 1529. Composed of 92% iron, the meteorite will
 be the third largest Nantan meteorite on display anywhere in the world.
     http://www.ripleystimessquare.com
     About Ripley Entertainment
     Ripley Entertainment, Inc. (http://www.ripleys.com) is a leading global
 attractions company with annual attendance of more than 13 million. In
 addition to its 60-plus attractions, the Orlando-based company has
 publishing and broadcast divisions that oversee projects including the
 globally syndicated Believe It or Not! television show, best-selling books
 and the popular syndicated cartoon strip, Ripley's Believe It or Not! that
 still runs daily in 200 newspapers in 42 countries. There are now 30
 Ripley's Believe It or Not!(R) museums (including NYC) in operation with
 another to open in late 2007 in India. The unique attractions feature
 exhibits that one must see to believe - exhibits that are so bizarre, so
 odd, so strange, that even the most worldly and knowledgeable guests will
 be awestruck!
     About Big Apple Entertainment Partners LLC
     Big Apple Entertainment Partners LLC is a franchisee of Ripley
 Entertainment, Inc. formed to develop and operate the Ripley's Times Square
 Odditorium. Big Apple Entertainment Partners LLC is controlled by Carni
 Development Group LLC, an investment vehicle established for the purpose of
 making investments in entertainment properties worldwide.
     About Ripley's Believe It or Not!(R) Times Square Odditorium
     Address: 234 West 42nd Street (between 7th and 8th Avenue)
     Phone Number: (212) 398-3133
     Hours: Open 365 days a year from 9am to 1am
     Pricing: Adults - $24.95; children ages 4 - 12 years old - $18.95;
     students, seniors and military personnel - $21.95
 
 

SOURCE Ripley Entertainment