There’s No Place Like Home…On The River

Posted onAuthorChris Owen

American Cruise Lines has partnered with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, to be the presenting sponsor of the Ruby Slippers, the centerpiece of the Entertainment Nation exhibition opening on December 9, 2022. Guests on board the cruise line’s American Revolution itinerary can view the exhibit when docking in Washington, D.C.
Recognized throughout the world from American film, The Wizard of Oz, the Ruby Slippers have embodied the spirit and essence of the movie’s famous line, There’s no place like home. This immortalized phrase is something that American Cruise Lines demonstrates as we cruise close to home, taking our guests to the most amazing destinations across the U.S.A.
 
Like Smithsonian Institution, American Cruise Lines offers enriching all-American experiences that educate our guests about our nation’s past, present, and future, what it means to be an American, and the universal truth that there is no place like home.

Some interesting facts about the slippers

  • At least seven pairs of slippers were made for the movie, though the exact number is unknown.
  • The Smithsonian’s pair was donated anonymously in 1979 after being sold at auction in 1970.
  • Two pairs are owned by private collectors, including a pair purchased by Leonardo DiCaprio and Steven Spielberg for display at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
  • A fourth pair was returned after being stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, in 2005.
  • Despite their name, Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers are not adorned with rubies.
  • The slippers are made from several different materials, including silk thread, wood pulp, gelatin, plastic and glass. 
  • Most of the ruby color comes from sequins, but the bows of the shoes contain red glass beads.
  • To fit the diminutive feet of 16-year-old Judy Garland (1922–1969), the red ruby slippers were only a size five.
  • To take advantage of new Technicolor technology available in 1939, the slippers were changed from silver, as featured in the novel from which the film originates, to an iridescent red hue.