Entry No. 54 — the Seattle file — filed under: oddities

Marsh's Free Museum

This free, crammed-to-the-rafters curio shop on the Long Beach peninsula is home to Jake the Alligator Man, a mummified half-man, half-alligator that has its own bumper sticker and decades of tabloid fame. Beyond Jake, the place is wall-to-wall with macabre taxidermy oddities including a two-headed pig, a two-headed calf, an eight-legged lamb, and a one-eyed lamb, plus rows of working vintage coin-operated arcade and fortune-telling machines. It bills itself as having the largest retail seashell collection on the West Coast, so the weird sits right next to the kitschy.

The move: Drive out to the coast, feed quarters into the antique fortune-teller machines, then take a selfie with Jake the Alligator Man before walking the beach.

📍 Before you go Free admission; open daily, with later Fri-Sat hours. It's the farthest pick at roughly 3+ hours each way on the coast.

• 📍 Long Beach, WA
• 💸 $$
• ⚡ Up for anything
• 🌗 Indoors

Where: 409 S Pacific Ave, Long Beach, WA 98631

Hours: Added 2026-06-24 — confirm current hours before you go.

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Proof: source 1 · source 2 · source 3 · source 4

last checked: 2026-06-24