![]() ![]() The selection is further complicated by the fact that Pasquale, a silver-haired senior citizen, is not a fan of rock music. "He's doing the same thing now with Bon Jovi." "He kept making it and destroying it, making it and destroying it" (It's still not in the museum). "He was working on an older John Lennon for, oh, I don't know. Even the rockers who make the cut don't necessarily make it into the museum. According to Maria, the three kids will suggest new musicians to Pasquale, who then decides which ones he wants to create. "I tell them, 'Well, because they're all hand-made, by one person, and he can only make so many.' It just takes time." According to Pasquale's daughter, Maria, visitors often ask why certain artists - rock legends all - are missing. The relative rarity of a dedicated rock wax museum makes the choice of who is and isn't displayed seem fraught with significance. Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and Eddie from Iron Maiden. The outside facade of the building shrieks rock excess, with signs mimicking a giant guitar and keyboard, and painted faces of rock luminaries. Rock Legends' narrow focus, plus the fact that there really isn't any other place quite like it, makes the museum a kind of waxy Rock Hall of Fame (especially since the official Rock Hall of Fame + Museum is too protective of its cultural pedigree to feature wax dummies). All of them are the handiwork of the steadily-sculpting Pasquale. Over 70 wax musicians now are featured, from Buddy Holly and Little Richard to Snoop Dogg and Slipknot. Pasquale sculpted a Frank Zappa and a Jim Morrison, the kids were impressed, and the Rock Legends Wax Museum opened above the store in 1997. After a few years Pasquale's son, Nick, had an idea: Niagara Falls was famous for its wax museums why not build a rock 'n' roll wax museum and have his dad make the dummies? The kids ran the place while Pasquale, born in 1937, remained an artist and sculptor (he's enshrined in the Niagara Falls Arts and Culture Wall of Fame). ![]() The Ramunno family opened a rock music souvenir store in Niagara Falls in 1983. The museum is the work of Pasquale Ramunno, an Italian immigrant, and his three Canadian-born children. Trent Reznor, Angus Young, Marilyn Manson? All here. Which is why the Rock Legends Wax Museum is special: it's a sculptural art gallery of rock superstars, many of them cultural misfits who can't be seen anywhere else assembled in one place. ![]()
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