The Marx Toy Museum Reopens

One of the coolest places in the state, The Marx Toy Museum, is open again after their annual Winter hiatus. Located at 915 Second Street in Moundsville, their hours are 11 AM to 5 PM, Tuesday through Saturday.

The Marx Toy Museum celebrates the legacy of Marx Toys, once the largest toy company in the world, with one of their main factories located in Glen Dale, WV, near the site of the museum.

Marx Toys was the company that first unleashed green army men and a plethora of plastic playsets on the world, along with the original Rock ’em Sock ’em Robots, Big Loo, Johnny West, Big Wheel, and an entire universe of licensed toys, from Popeye and Dick Tracy to Disney, Hanna-Barbera and Marvel.

We visted the Marx Toy Museum last year and produced a gigantic five-part photo essay, plus we returned to record the Christmas episode of Radio Free Charleston there.

You can visit the Marx Toy Museum online, and call them (1-304-845-6022) for directions and special events.

We’ve dug back into the PopCult archives to bring you a mini-photo essay of unseen images from our previous visits.

The Prototype Room is filled with original castings and samples and unproduced toys

Also in the Prototype Room, original package artwork

The gift shop offers some nice replica toys, made from the original molds.

There’s also a wall full of cool tin signs and thermometers for you to choose from

Early licensing deals saw Marx producing tin toys of Amos and Andy and Blondie

Clockwork animals were also a big hit for Marx

We can’t forget the giant playsets, complete with plastic mountains

Johny West is my favorite. I still collect him to this day. This is just a small portion of the Johnny West stuff, including the “Traveling Johnny” project by The Circle X Ranch

More of The Best Of The West

A rare store display with the Quick Draw Johnny and Sam Cobra, and Mod Color Geronimo and Jane West

Even m0re Johnny West coolness, including the rare Jed Gibson figure in the top left corner

Back in the day, Jungle Animal toys and shooting toys were one and the same

Meet The Flintstones

Johnny Tremaine and The Moonbase.  They work surprisingly well together

We leave you with The Campus Cuties, who beckon you, Siren-like, to make the drive to Moundsville and check out the Marx Toy Museum