Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States California Burlingame Burlingame Museum of Pez Memorabilia
Burlingame Museum of Pez Memorabilia is permanently closed.

This entry remains in the Atlas as a record of its history, but it is no longer accessible to visitors.

Gastro Obscura

Burlingame Museum of Pez Memorabilia

A comprehensive collection of Pez dispensers.

Burlingame, California

Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
Wall of historic Pez dispensers  
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/taylar/345409...
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/toybotstudios...
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/jek-a-go-go/3...
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/jek-a-go-go/3...
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/toybotstudios...
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/taylar/345490...
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/allison_dc/29...
Pez Museum Storefront   Eirik Gumeny / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

When Viennese confectioner Eduard Haas III began marketing his Pfefferminz, peppermint candies in small Altoids-like tins, and later in a dispenser shaped like a cigarette lighter (the "regular" designed in 1950 to help folks quit smoking), he couldn't have possibly predicted the kind of pop culture phenomenon that he was unleashing on the world.

Pfefferminz would go on to become PEZ and those dispensers would gain a kind of cult following among collectors around the world. Today conventions are held every year in Missouri, California, Minnesota, Connecticut, South Carolina, Austria, Finland and Sweden where PEZ aficionados gather to trade and collect Pez dispensers. In 2011 there may even be a "Pezhead Cruise." The rarest of dispensers can fetch quite a bit of money with the largest official sale at 7000 for a dispenser, and an ebay sale of 11,000 dollars for a dispenser, which was later proved to be a fake.

So it is with great pride that Gary and Nancy Doss display their collection at the Burlingame, California Museum of Pez Memorabilia. The museum was once a computer retail and repair business with a display of the Doss' personal PEZ collection it slowly morphed into all pez all the time, business and museum and the Doss' make their living shipping and trading PEZ around the world.

Part of what makes their collection unique is that it contains all 550 (plus) characters that Pez ever produced, including 70s psychedelic Pez, Mozart and Princess Sissi Pez, Lost in Space Pez, and the largest Pez dispenser in the world which looks like a snowman. They also have a collection of homebrew Pez dispensers including the infamous "Hitler" pez, of which only 80 were sold before the Pez lawyers put a stop to it.

Unfortunately the Pez lawyers also seem determined to put a stop the the Museum of Pez Memorabilia, despite it being a huge endorsement and advertisement for the company. The Doss's have retained a lawyer and are keeping both the worlds largest Pez dispenser (which the company demanded be destroyed) and the museum open and operating, for now at least.

Related Tags

Museums Collections Food Food Museums

Community Contributors

Edited By

allie, Molly McBride Jacobson, mbison, Eirik Gumeny

  • allie
  • Molly McBride Jacobson
  • mbison
  • Eirik Gumeny

Published

January 30, 2010

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://www.burlingamepezmuseum.com/index.html
  • http://www.worldslargestdispenserofpez.com/
  • http://www.yelp.com/biz/burlingame-museum-of-pez-memorabilia-burlingame
  • http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2030
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pez
  • http://www.pezgathering.com/
Burlingame Museum of Pez Memorabilia
214 California Drive
Burlingame, California, 94010
United States
37.579079, -122.344109
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Junípero Serra Statue

Hillsborough, California

miles away

The Flintstone House

Hillsborough, California

miles away

Wind Harp

South San Francisco, California

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of California

California

United States

Places 1,494
Stories 135

Nearby Places

Junípero Serra Statue

Hillsborough, California

miles away

The Flintstone House

Hillsborough, California

miles away

Wind Harp

South San Francisco, California

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of California

California

United States

Places 1,494
Stories 135

Related Stories and Lists

The Ultimate List of Wonderfully Specific Museums

List

By Molly McBride Jacobson

40 Museums Devoted Entirely to Food, From the Delicious to the Disgusting

List

By Molly McBride Jacobson

Related Places

  • The National Cookie Cutter Museum.

    Joplin, Missouri

    National Cookie Cutter Historical Museum

    A small museum dedicated to the whimsical tool that turns sugar cookies into works of art.

  • The “pet ham” is 119 years old.

    Smithfield, Virginia

    World’s Oldest Edible Ham

    The nearly 120-year-old piece of pork wears a brass collar and was once a man's "pet ham."

  • The Gurkenmuseum.

    Lübbenau/Spreewald, Germany

    Gurkenmuseum (Cucumber Museum)

    A museum honoring Germany’s cucumber mecca offers a great dill of gherkin history.

  • Auvers-sur-Oise, France

    Musée de l'Absinthe

    One woman's decades-long obsession with the "La Fée Verte."

  • O'Leary, Prince Edward Island

    Canadian Potato Museum

    This sprawling collection hides many charms.

  • Gold Medal Flour Mill

    Minneapolis, Minnesota

    Mill City Museum and site of "The Great Mill Disaster"

    When flour explodes, it's not a pretty sight.

  • That’s a lot of mustard.

    Middleton, Wisconsin

    National Mustard Museum

    More than 5,000 contemporary and "historic" mustards from around the world.

  • Raeren, Belgium

    Museum of Carrots

    This small window display is dedicated to the noble carrot.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.