DOYLESTOWN TOWNSHIP — The nonprofit Oscar Hammerstein Museum and Theatre Education Center at Highland Farm in Doylestown recently announced an alliance with the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum in Key West, Florida.
Hammerstein officials hope to learn tips on how to attract visitors to Highland Farm in much the same way that approximately 30,000 guests from around the world visit the Hemingway Home each month.
Hemingway’s historical home features a two-story home, tropical gardens, wrap-around porch and balcony, in-ground pool, stand-alone writing room and is home to dozens of cats. Of a similar property size and layout, Hammerstein’s Highland Farm features a three-story residence, wrap-around porch and balcony, in-ground pool, four acres of grounds and a historic barn.
The Hammerstein Museum’s ongoing fundraising campaign would support efforts to secure the Highland Farm property, purchase two adjacent parcels and create a museum and theater education center on the property, where Hammerstein wrote some of his most famous Broadway shows.
“You can take a historical figure and attempt to tell their history in a way that captivates people, or you can open the door and invite people into their home, which gives that person’s history a true feeling,” said Hemingway Home director Andrew Morawski. “For both the Hemingway and Hammerstein museums, we’re not only preserving the person behind the history, but the actual home itself. This experience goes beyond what a regular museum or a classroom can convey or deliver.”
For information about the historic properties, visit www.hammersteinmuseum.org and www.hemingwayhome.com.
Gannett | USA TODAY NETWORK