International Banana Museum
Museum interior, July 2017
Established1976 (1976)
LocationMecca, California
Coordinates33°31′42″N 115°56′36″W / 33.528350°N 115.943433°W / 33.528350; -115.943433
CuratorFred Garbutt
Websiteinternationalbananamuseum.com
Ken Bannister with his banana collection in 1976

The International Banana Museum was a museum located in Mecca, California, dedicated to the banana.[1] The one-room museum contains more than 20,000 items related to bananas.[1] In 1999, the museum set a Guinness World Record as the largest museum devoted to a single fruit. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the museum stated it would close.[2] As of August 2023, it remained closed.[3]

History

In 1972, Kennetg Bannister was a president of a photographic equipment manufacturing company, and at a manufacturers' conference, he handed out thousands of Chiquita banana stickers.[1][4][5] His joke was that since the banana was shaped like a smile, it might encourage people to do so.[1]

Encouraged by the positive response, Bannister created the International Banana Club and was designated as the "Top Banana".[1] He started receiving banana-related items in the mail, but began to run out of room for all of them.[4][5] He founded the museum in 1976.[1]

The International Banana Club and Museum operated in Altadena in a rented building.[1][4][5][6] The Banana Club grew to 35,000 members in 17 countries.[4] Donating a banana-related item to the museum would enable one to join the Banana Club, with a nickname and ability to earn "banana merit points", and obtain a degree in "Bananistry". President Ronald Reagan was a member of the club.[1]

In 2005, Bannister relocated the museum to a rent-free city-owned space in Hesperia.[4][6] However, in 2010, the Hesperia Recreation and Park District wanted the museum to move out to make room for a new exhibit.[6] Bannister placed the entire collection on eBay for $45,000.[4][6] He lowered the price to $7,500[4] and jn 2010, Fred Garbutt bought the collection for an undisclosed amount, moving it to Mecca, California and becoming the new curator. It was reported that Bannister had agreed to a purchase price below $7,500.[1][5]

Description

In 1999, the museum won a Guinness World Record as the largest museum devoted to a single fruit. At the time, it held a collection of 17,000 items.[4][6][7][8]

The collection included kitschy items such as a "banana couch, banana soda, gold-plated banana, banana boogie board, and banana ears".[5] The museum housed the only petrified banana in the world, which came from the closet of a girl in Kentucky.[1][6] The museum was family-friendly, despite a history of people sending in lewd objects.[1][4][5]

There was also a Banana Bar that served banana-related food and drinks.[1][7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Tibballs, G. (2016). The World's 100 Weirdest Museums: From the Moist Towelette Museum in Michigan to the Museum of Broken Relationships in Zagreb. Little, Brown Book Group. p. 186. ISBN 978-1-4721-3696-1.
  2. ↑ "Museum Hours". Banana. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  3. ↑ "International Banana Museum: Salton Sea's Wacky Museum (Closed)". California Through My Lens. 2015-03-16. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Pilon, Mary (2010-03-23). "In California, the Banana Museum Has Lost Its Appeal". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2019-03-24.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kelly, David (2010-06-10). "Bunches of banana stuff to occupy new museum". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2019-03-24.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "World's Largest Banana Museum Forced To Split". NPR.org. 2010-03-31. Retrieved 2019-03-24.
  7. 1 2 Lonely Planet Experience USA. Travel Guide. Lonely Planet Global Limited. 2018. p. 49. ISBN 978-1-78701-963-8.
  8. ↑ "Largest collection of banana-related memorabilia". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 2019-03-24.
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