Wax Museum

The deputy director of the Great Blacks in Wax Museum, where a 20-year-old man was fatally stabbed during a fight at a party Friday night, said he was cutting ties with a local promoter who had described the parties to museum officials as Christian fundraisers. Fliers for the parties, posted on a Web page for Big Les Productions, describe them as events for young adults and "mature" high school students. Many of the posters show young men flashing what appear to be gang signs or raising their middle fingers, and promise a "sexy ladies dance contest."

Retired basketball star Chris Webber will help the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum raise funds for a $75 million replacement facility scheduled to open on Baltimore's North Avenue corridor in 2015. The museum announced that Webber, a five-time National Basketball Association All-Star who played from 1993 to 2008, will help launch an initiative next week to raise $4 million for the sports wing of a $7 million gallery of sports, recreation and athletics that will be part of the new museum.

Retired basketball star Chris Webber will help the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum raise funds for a $75 million replacement facility scheduled to open on Baltimore's North Avenue corridor in 2015. The museum announced that Webber, a five-time National Basketball Association All-Star who played from 1993 to 2008, will help launch an initiative next week to raise $4 million for the sports wing of a $7 million gallery of sports, recreation and athletics that will be part of the new museum.

On stage, Maddie Poole's attitude is fierce, stomping around in high heels, a leopard print dress and heavy makeup, and speaking with a commanding voice that carries across the auditorium. But backstage, still in makeup but wearing a hooded sweat shirt and no longer in the heels, her posture has eased, her voice is softer and she's dropped the scowl for a smile. "My character is awful. She's an awful person," the 14-year-old said during a recent rehearsal at the Children's Theatre of Annapolis.

The Engineers Club was packed with people, including three replicas thereof. The 500 real folks circulated through sitting rooms of the historic building catching up with old friends and snagging a bite from the buffet. In the ballroom, the three nonhuman guests of honor awaited their introductions in an unveiling ceremony presenting the newest additions to the Great Blacks in Wax Museum's collection. Two of the figures would also be greeting their flesh-and-blood counterparts -- Baltimore entrepreneur-philanthropists Osborne Payne and Harlow Fullwood Jr. Both were at the party, but they were not allowed to see their wax facsimiles until the official unveiling.

Cal Ripken Jr. was there. So were Kristi Yamaguchi, Mickey Mantle and Michael Jordan. Even Babe Ruth swung a bat or two.I saw these famous people and many others at the "wax museum" recently at Freedom Elementary School.During February, Freedom third-graders studied biographies, reading about famous people in sports, politics, science, music, art, literature and medicine.After researching the life of a famous person and writing a report to show what they had learned, the students became the historical figures during the wax museum event.

Retired Army Gen. Colin L. Powell, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has been immortalized in East Baltimore.The Great Blacks in Wax Museum, the nation's first African-American wax museum, unveiled yesterday a life-sized likeness of the four-star general during a ceremony attended by Powell, his wife, Alma, and other dignitaries, including Maryland's U.S. Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes, U.S. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings and Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke."

Elmer P. Martin, president and co-founder of the Great Blacks in Wax Museum in East Baltimore, died last week while traveling in Egypt. Councilwoman Helen L. Holton, a Northwest Baltimore Democrat and a member of the museum's board of trustees, confirmed last night that Martin, 54, died Thursday while traveling with his wife, Joanne M. Martin, the museum's executive director. Holton said she did not know the cause of death. "It is a great loss to this community," Holton said. Holton, who announced Martin's death at last night's City Council meeting, said Martin is "someone who will truly be missed for his contributions to the African-American community."

Elmer and Joanne Martin began their mission to keep black history alive by carting around four wax figures in their car. Thirteen years later, 117 figures line two floors of their Great Blacks in Wax Museum in a converted East Baltimore firehouse.While their collection of wax figures has grown, one thing hasn't changed."We live right on the financial edge," Mrs. Martin laments. "An institution can't survive on that level. We can't live in the survival mode and be around 10 years from now."

Dr. Elmer P. Martin, co-founder and president of the Great Blacks in Wax Museum Inc., died Thursday of an apparent heart attack while on a Nile River boat trip in Egypt. He was 54 and lived in Randallstown. Recalled as an educational visionary who wanted to bring both little- and well-known incidents of black history to life, he founded the museum with $30,000 he had saved to buy a home. The museum opened in 1983 in a storefront on West Saratoga Street. Today, the museum is in several rowhouses and a former fire station in the 1600 block of E. North Ave. and attracts about 275,000 visitors annually.

What better way to celebrate Presidents Day weekend than getting up close and personal with all 43 presidents — well, their lifelike wax figures, that is. The Presidents Gallery at Madame Tussauds Washington opens this week with an unveiling of the museum's new $2 million exhibit featuring wax figures of the U.S. leaders, from No. 1, George Washington, to No. 44, Barack Obama. (Grover Cleveland, for those counting, was No. 22 and No. 24.) "This is the only place in the world where you are able to stand next to them, put your arms around them and interact with all 44 presidents in three-dimensional fashion," said Dan Rogoski, general manager of Madame Tussauds Washington.

Benjamin Franklin arrived with a kite outlined in lights. At the flip of a switch, the lights went on and the character listed his many accomplishments. Adolphe Sax, dressed in formal attire, spoke of his career in music. Amelia Earhart expounded on her flying technique, and Ginger Rogers offered details from her life in film. They were, in reality, fifth-graders who each took on a different persona for the annual wax museum at Cromwell Valley Elementary in Towson. Costumed and accessorized historical, literary, sports and entertainment characters filled the school cafeteria and gym Wednesday.

Charges were dropped Friday against Jonathan Miller, who had been accused of participating in a deadly stabbing last month after a party at the Great Blacks in Wax Museum. "This kid was a victim. ... He didn't stab anyone," said Miller's defense attorney, Jack B. Rubin. Miller, 18, admitted to police that he was involved in a group fight at the Baltimore museum during which Joshua Hargrove, 20, was stabbed and killed. But Miller wasn't armed, his attorney said, and the teenager had also been stabbed that night.

A District Court hearing in the Baltimore murder trial of Jonathan Miller, who is accused of participating in a stabbing at the Great Blacks in Wax Museum last month, was postponed Tuesday until Jan. 26. Miller has yet to be indicted by the Baltimore Circuit Court, potentially signaling trouble ahead. The higher court typically takes on such cases. The state's attorney's office declined to comment, and defense attorney Jack Rubin would only say that his client is innocent.

The deputy director of the Great Blacks in Wax Museum, where a 20-year-old man was fatally stabbed during a fight at a party Friday night, said he was cutting ties with a local promoter who had described the parties to museum officials as Christian fundraisers. Fliers for the parties, posted on a Web page for Big Les Productions, describe them as events for young adults and "mature" high school students. Many of the posters show young men flashing what appear to be gang signs or raising their middle fingers, and promise a "sexy ladies dance contest."

The 20-year-old who was fatally stabbed Friday night in East Baltimore was attacked during a fight at a party at the Great Blacks in Wax Museum, records show. Police said the museum, which is in the 1600 block of E. North Ave. and features more than 100 life-size wax figures of prominent black leaders, had been rented out for a "large party" held by a group called the Baltimore Christian Warriors, according to court records and museum staff. A number of fights erupted, and Joshua Hargrove was stabbed as a group of men were escorted out of the facility just before midnight, records show.

With a bit of prodding from his wife Blanche, Mark Powell will tell you about the Great Baltimore Fire of 1904. Not what he's read about it; what he remembers. "My father took me down to Baltimore and Hanover streets to watch the fire," Powell said. "It was a Sunday afternoon. My mother stayed home to pack so we could go to Pennsylvania, because we were afraid the whole city might burn down." Powell was 6 years old at the time. Next week he'll turn 102. Yesterday, he was honored as one of Baltimore's Living Legends in a ceremony at the Great Blacks in Wax Museum.

The 20-year-old who was fatally stabbed Friday night in East Baltimore was attacked during a fight at a party at the Great Blacks in Wax Museum, records show. Police said the museum, which is in the 1600 block of E. North Ave. and features more than 100 life-size wax figures of prominent black leaders, had been rented out for a "large party" held by a group called the Baltimore Christian Warriors, according to court records and museum staff. A number of fights erupted, and Joshua Hargrove was stabbed as a group of men were escorted out of the facility just before midnight, records show.