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Dr. Seuss Museum slated to open summer of 2017

Date: 3/26/2015

SPRINGFIELD – Add one more project that will attract more attention to the city: A Dr. Seuss Museum.

The Springfield Museums have announced it will use the William Pynchon Building as the new home of The Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum, the first museum dedicated to the life and work of the beloved writer and illustrator – as well as Springfield native.

Theodor Geisel was born in 1904 in Springfield, lived on Fairfield Street in the Forest Park neighborhood, and attended city schools.

Kay Simpson, vice president of the Springfield Museums, explained to Reminder Publications the first half of the museum is planned to be open next summer with the second half opening in of the summer of 2017.

Planning for the museum has long been in the making, Simpson said and discussions started in 2002 with the opening of the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden. The garden has brought a “flood of visitors,” she said.

Simpson said planning in earnest started in 2009 when the Lyman & Merrie Wood of Springfield History Museum opened and the William Pynchon Memorial Building was then empty.

The museums are in the middle of a capital campaign and have raised $1.5 million, which will fund the first floor installation for the museum. Simpson said it would be an interactive exhibit “children’s museum experience” that will be bilingual and designed for families.

She said it would tell the story of Ted Geisel as he grew up in Springfield with landmarks that were significant in his life such as the bakery on Howard Street owned by his maternal grandparents and the Forest Park Zoo that was close to his home. His father was the superintendent of the zoo and young Geisel would frequently go to the zoo to sketch the animals.

The second floor of the museum will be a recreation of Geisel’s sitting room and studio complete with actual items from his life.

Simpson said Geisel’s family support the museum.

 “The family is totally committed to this project and feels Springfield is the location for a museum honoring Dr. Seuss,” she said.

A new website, seussinspringfield.org, will be launched in June to publicize the sculpture garden and the new museum.

“Theodor Geisel is revered worldwide for his memorable characters and his classic children's books that have introduced the joy of reading to millions worldwide,” Holly Smith-Bové, president of the Springfield Museums, said. “We think it’s entirely fitting that this museum be located in Ted’s hometown, one that provided him with so much of his inspiration.”