Ripley's Believe It or Not in St. Augustine Beach, St. Johns County, United States | Museum

Welcome to Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum in St. Augustine, Florida, United States. Ripley's Believe It or Not offers fun for all ages. Experience the thrill of adventure while you explore more than 800 exhibits at the Original Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum in historic St. Augustine, Florida. You'll laugh one moment and gasp the next! You will be amazed and wonder why ... is it real or is it a fake? See the unusual, the unorthodox, and the exotic, collected from the far corners of the world. Join us for a journey from the past to the present...or is it the future?
In the first half of the 20th Century, Robert Ripley was one of the most famous people in the world. His Believe it or Not cartoon featured tales that were too incredible to believe, but he claimed they were all true.
Ripley's notoriety was so widespread that his fame has carried into the 21st Century, more than 50 years after his death. Ripley's Believe It or Not continues to be a tremendously popular newspaper and magazine feature and the spin-off television program, videos and numerous books are as popular as the 29 Ripley Believe It or Not Museums around the world.
The St. Augustine Ripley's is located in Castle Warden, an historic Moorish Revival style mansion built in 1887. Built as a winter home for Millionaire William Warden, Castle Warden later served as a fashionable hotel owned by Norton Baskin and his wife, Pulitzer prize-winning novelist, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, author of The Yearling, Cross Creek and South Moon Under. Since 1950 the building has been the original permanent location of Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum.
While a hotel, Robert Ripley was a frequent visitor to the hotel and had commented on numerous occasions that Castle Warden would be an ideal location to showcase his collection of unbelievable curiosities.
Mr. Ripley attempted to purchase the building several times, but was not successful in his lifetime. After his death in 1949, his heirs managed the purchase of the building and in December of 1950, the Museum opened.