What) The name of Marvin Carr's museum should be taken literally. While there may be, somewhere on earth, another water-cooled World War I German machine gun or the top third of a stuffed 16-foot-tall giraffe, nowhere else will you see both in the same room. Just here. "I like the unusual and the magnificent and the beautiful," Marvin explained to us. "I kind of mix everything up." Marvin was born in 1927. He worked as a railroad switch man, got injured, retired, invested, made money. At age 70, he cashed in his stocks and decided to open a museum. In a genuinely one-of-a-kind approach, he bought the museum building first -- an unfinished Spokane warehouse -- and only then began buying things to fill it.    

    Marvin gives every visitor a personal tour of his collection, which ranges from exotic treasures to gag gifts usually found in bars in the 1950s. "Living death masks" of old Hollywood stars hang on one wall, next to a matador costume and two stuffed squirrels riding a tiny fire engine. He walked us past the "world's largest World War II destroyer model" (13 feet long), and a slightly smaller replica of a 17th century French warship, made of 27,500 matchsticks. He flicked a switch to make a stuffed Chokie Lion ("the largest ever shot") growl, and showed us one of his more recent purchases, the largest stuffed black bear in the world. There's no need to deconstruct Marvin Carr's museum beyond the obvious: it's filled with things that Marvin likes and that he wants others to like, too. Marvin also writes adventure novels, which he sells at the museum ("Nobody buys them," he cracked), and seems happy to spend his money and entertain whoever stops by. "You can't get people to come in here," he told us, "but I really don't care that much. I want them to come, but I'm also having one hell of a wonderful time." (1)

    Where) 5225 North Freya Street   Northeast edge of the city.   Sat-Sun 1-4   1-509-489-8859

    Why) I didn't get a chance to see everything in my first visit so I decided that I would rather take a day off bridge to spend another afternoon at Marvin's.
















I purchased one of Marvin's books as an attempt to thank him for creating the museum.










Sorry for the quality of this image but you need to see it in order to appreciate the detail images that follow.




















It is hard to imagine all the skilled work that went into this cork sculpture.



























This sculpture is made of Black Ironwood which is heavy, expensive and difficult to carve. (2)








This seems like a fitting way to end the section.