Ripley’s Believe It or Not will charge $1.50 for adult admission and 75 cents for children on the final day of its Fisherman’s Wharf attraction, returning to the prices visitors paid when it opened in 1967.
The Odditorium, which opened at 175 Jefferson St. on Feb. 2, 1967, is officially set to shutter on Dec. 1. In the weeks leading up to the closure, the company is offering $19.67 admission on Thursdays and a silent auction of selected exhibits and artifacts.
The auction includes several objects with San Francisco ties, among them a Golden Gate Bridge made on the head of a pin, toothpick replicas of the bridge, Joe DiMaggio’s crutches and a chicken-wire portrait of Janis Joplin.
“We’ve had nearly 60 unbelievable years at Fisherman’s Wharf, and we want these final weeks to be a celebration,” Jim Pattison Jr., president of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! World Entertainment, said in a statement Thursday, Oct. 15.
Ripley’s Believe It or Not has set Dec. 1 as the final day for its Fisherman’s Wharf attraction, which opened in 1967. The company plans to charge $1.50 for adults and 75 cents for children that day and auction selected items from the collection. (Ripley’s)
Other items listed for auction include a matchstick cable car, a microfilm Bible, a fur-covered fish and a 1989 Emmy connected to coverage of the Loma Prieta earthquake and World Series. The company said guests can bid through a silent auction that will remain open until closing.
Meanwhile, the building itself is already being marketed for lease.
A Blatteis Realty Co. listing describes the Jefferson Street property as a roughly 13,366-square-foot retail space, with about 2,100 square feet on the ground floor and 11,300 square feet upstairs. The listing says the space could accommodate retail, restaurant, entertainment or other tourist-oriented uses.
Founder Robert Ripley began his professional career in San Francisco in 1909, according to the company. Its “Believe It or Nots!” were later exhibited at the Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island in 1939 and 1940.
Ripley’s says visitors can find hours and event information through its final day on its San Francisco attraction page.
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This article originally published at Ripley’s sets closing date for San Francisco attraction with $1.50 admission.