I've been told about another of my assignments: something at the Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site, in Philadelphia. Yes, other cities lay claim with Poe museums, as well: Baltimore, Richmond, and the Bronx. The guy got around.
In his six years in Philadelphia, Poe and his family lived in five different places, all rented. He wrote and published a lot during this time, including famous stories: The Tell-Tale Heart and The Fall of the House of Usher, among others. But little trace of his material life remains, and the Park has so far decided to leave the house unfurnished. Adjoining buildings hold exhibits and other related functions.
In the '80s, Edith Wharton's home in the Berkshires, The Mount, was interpreted with no furnishings. A theater company rented the grounds, and when they weren't performing Shakespeare on the lawn and in the woods, they re-enacted scenes from Wharton's life throughout the house. It was magical.
I don't remember visiting any other "empty" house museums, but it's an appealing idea. Especially if the place's significance doesn't reside in its furnishings.* Maybe the coolest thing people can experience in a writer's home is to step into the person's imagination, not into the parlor. It would be hard for a museum to give up even the least appropriate collections, once the staff had been dusting them for a while. I raised the possibility at Twain's Boyhood Home, and it was the most hilarious joke I'd told in months. I wonder if the folks at the Poe Historic Site are eager or reluctant to turn the house back into kitchens and bedrooms.
Do you know of any empty museums?
*Of course, in Edith Wharton's home the furnishings would be pretty significant--she was her era's Martha Stewart. And now The Mount is essentially a designer showcase.
In his six years in Philadelphia, Poe and his family lived in five different places, all rented. He wrote and published a lot during this time, including famous stories: The Tell-Tale Heart and The Fall of the House of Usher, among others. But little trace of his material life remains, and the Park has so far decided to leave the house unfurnished. Adjoining buildings hold exhibits and other related functions.
In the '80s, Edith Wharton's home in the Berkshires, The Mount, was interpreted with no furnishings. A theater company rented the grounds, and when they weren't performing Shakespeare on the lawn and in the woods, they re-enacted scenes from Wharton's life throughout the house. It was magical.
I don't remember visiting any other "empty" house museums, but it's an appealing idea. Especially if the place's significance doesn't reside in its furnishings.* Maybe the coolest thing people can experience in a writer's home is to step into the person's imagination, not into the parlor. It would be hard for a museum to give up even the least appropriate collections, once the staff had been dusting them for a while. I raised the possibility at Twain's Boyhood Home, and it was the most hilarious joke I'd told in months. I wonder if the folks at the Poe Historic Site are eager or reluctant to turn the house back into kitchens and bedrooms.
Do you know of any empty museums?
*Of course, in Edith Wharton's home the furnishings would be pretty significant--she was her era's Martha Stewart. And now The Mount is essentially a designer showcase.
Comments
Glad to read about Poe in Philadelphia. Presumably there are one or more Poe Internet sites that tell us about the other museums. Are they empty too?
Joe Donohue
If you click on the other cities' names, you'll get to sites about the other museums. As I remember, they aren't empty--I think the other Poe houses either have some Poe artifacts, or they've gone in the direction of "period appropriate."
Thanks for commenting!
Post a Comment