The Dr. Who Capital Of The World Is Hiding In Small-Town Indiana And It's As Weirdly Wonderful As You'd Expect
By Tori Jane|Published April 23, 2021
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Tori Jane
Author
Tori Jane is a storm chaser, writer, photographer, and the village idiot - in that order. When she's not out and about dancing with the meanest storms on planet Earth for funsies she can be found wandering, shooting landscapes, writing, editing photos, and otherwise up to no good. Legend has it that she can also be occasionally spotted typing up short bios in the third person, but those rumors are unsubstantiated.
You know, there’s at least one thing in this world that everyone can agree on: Dr. Who has been on television for a long time. Since 1963, this science fiction show broadcast by BBC has captivated an audience of millions. It’s easily one of the few television series ever to have multiple generations of fans spanning for its whole entirety – and it’s still on today. This little slice of heaven is THE ultimate Dr. Who store, and it’s right here in tiny-town Indiana!
In 1998, Dr. Who superfan Keith Bradbury was on the hunt for merch from his favorite show.
In those days, Keith had to refer to UK sellers, as sellers of Dr. Who merchandise in the United States were rare. And so, Keith thought, why not create his own Dr. Who store and museum for fans like him to enjoy?
Who North America started with just a handful of memorabilia items, and soon enough, it had grown to become the place to go for all things Whovian.
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Word spread like wildfire, and by the time the new Dr. Who series came out in 2005, Who North America had become a haven for Whovians to truly experience the joy of being a fan.
The store upgraded to a warehouse facility in 2010 to accommodate its explosive growth, and today it's still there, doing what it's done best for all this time: delivering a one-of-a-kind experience to Dr. Who fans from around the world.
In 2016, the current incarnation of the museum opened to the public, offering all the Dr. Who merchandise anyone could ever wish for in the front, and all the rest of the more historically relevant, preserved-for-all-time museum goodies in the rear.
The place is pretty big and might seem intimidating to a first-time visitor.
We suggest you plan on spending at least an hour or two here because there's seriously so much you've got to see!
For those who live a little too far to just walk into the shop one day, there's always the outstanding experience of browsing Who North America's website, too, which is full of epic memorabilia that you won't find anywhere else in the US.
Currently, Who North America is open Mondays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesdays through Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. (although later hours may be available by appointment - it never hurts to check!) and Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. It is not open on Sundays, so plan accordingly.
For the ultimate Dr. Who fan, it seriously does NOT get any more epic than this.