James Whitcomb Riley Museum Home In Indianapolis Is The Nation's Only Late-Victorian Preservation Open to the Public
Hoosier Poet's Last Home Celebrated 80 Years of Sharing the Victorian Era at a Celebration Yesterday in Indianapolis
(EMAILWIRE.COM, October 08, 2002 ) The James Whitcomb Riley Museum Home, the only late-Victorian preservation in the nation that is open to the public, celebrated its 80th-anniversary celebration yesterday, on the birthday of its namesake. Filled with authentic furnishings, décor, and an air of nostalgia, the charming home is where James Whitcomb Riley lived the last 23 years of his life.
Not a restoration, the Riley Museum Home maintains original carpets and gas fixtures, hand-painted ceilings, Native Indiana butternut woodwork, Mitchell & Rammelsburg sideboard, and furniture that has never been removed.
Poet James Whitcomb Riley -- creator of such classics as "Little Orphant Annie" and "The Raggedy Man" -- is remembered as the "Hoosier Poet." He wrote and published more than 1,000 poems, mostly about children and life in Indiana.
Mr. Riley's success as a poet led him to a full-time career composing and reciting. He spoke to audiences across the country, including a performance in New York City's Carnegie Hall. Born in Greenfield, Indiana, on October 7, 1849, and educated in local school, Mr. Riley traveled the state in his youth, finally settling in Indianapolis as a newspaper writer.
As a paying guest of longtime friends Major and Mrs. Charles L. Holstein, Mr. Riley wrote his later verses and entertained many famous people at the 528 Lockerbie Street home. He died in his bedroom on July 22, 1916, and is buried in Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis.
When Mrs. Holstein passed away that same year, she willed the household goods to housekeeper Miss Katie Kindell. Due to the foresight of a group of Mr. Riley's friends -- including William Fortune and Booth Tarkington -- the household goods were purchased from Miss Kindell and the house from the estate of Mrs. Charles Holstein. William Fortune held the home until the Riley Memorial Association (RMA) was formed in 1921. When the Home was opened to the public as a museum, Miss Kindell became its first hostess. She died in 1939.
Little has changed at the Riley Museum Home since it first opened its doors in the Post World War I era in 1922. The charming home recalls a simpler time, showcasing many of the poet's personal belongings including his writing desk, a portrait of his beloved dog, and his top hat and cane.
Presently, many third and fourth grade classrooms across Indiana consider the James Whitcomb Riley Museum Home a staple to their yearly field trip line-up. The Home has been described by authorities as "one of the finest Victorian preservations in the United States" and is distinguished as the nation's only late-Victorian preservation open to the public. The Home has been a central part of the historic Lockerbie Square neighborhood, just outside downtown Indianapolis.
For more information on the James Whitcomb Riley Museum Home visit www.rileykids.org, or call 317.631.5885. Tours are given daily and by appointment. Admission to the Riley Museum Home is $3, adults; $2, senior citizens (65 and over); children ages 7-17, $.50; children under 7, free.
Along with Riley Hospital for Children and Camp Riley, the James Whitcomb Riley Museum Home is a special project of the Riley Memorial Association (RMA). Admission to the poet's home covers 9 percent of the cost of maintaining and operating the museum. The remainder is generously provided by the RMA.
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Produced for Riley Memorial Association
Contact:
Vicki Bohlsen
317.535.6437
vbohlsen@aol.com
Not a restoration, the Riley Museum Home maintains original carpets and gas fixtures, hand-painted ceilings, Native Indiana butternut woodwork, Mitchell & Rammelsburg sideboard, and furniture that has never been removed.
Poet James Whitcomb Riley -- creator of such classics as "Little Orphant Annie" and "The Raggedy Man" -- is remembered as the "Hoosier Poet." He wrote and published more than 1,000 poems, mostly about children and life in Indiana.
Mr. Riley's success as a poet led him to a full-time career composing and reciting. He spoke to audiences across the country, including a performance in New York City's Carnegie Hall. Born in Greenfield, Indiana, on October 7, 1849, and educated in local school, Mr. Riley traveled the state in his youth, finally settling in Indianapolis as a newspaper writer.
As a paying guest of longtime friends Major and Mrs. Charles L. Holstein, Mr. Riley wrote his later verses and entertained many famous people at the 528 Lockerbie Street home. He died in his bedroom on July 22, 1916, and is buried in Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis.
When Mrs. Holstein passed away that same year, she willed the household goods to housekeeper Miss Katie Kindell. Due to the foresight of a group of Mr. Riley's friends -- including William Fortune and Booth Tarkington -- the household goods were purchased from Miss Kindell and the house from the estate of Mrs. Charles Holstein. William Fortune held the home until the Riley Memorial Association (RMA) was formed in 1921. When the Home was opened to the public as a museum, Miss Kindell became its first hostess. She died in 1939.
Little has changed at the Riley Museum Home since it first opened its doors in the Post World War I era in 1922. The charming home recalls a simpler time, showcasing many of the poet's personal belongings including his writing desk, a portrait of his beloved dog, and his top hat and cane.
Presently, many third and fourth grade classrooms across Indiana consider the James Whitcomb Riley Museum Home a staple to their yearly field trip line-up. The Home has been described by authorities as "one of the finest Victorian preservations in the United States" and is distinguished as the nation's only late-Victorian preservation open to the public. The Home has been a central part of the historic Lockerbie Square neighborhood, just outside downtown Indianapolis.
For more information on the James Whitcomb Riley Museum Home visit www.rileykids.org, or call 317.631.5885. Tours are given daily and by appointment. Admission to the Riley Museum Home is $3, adults; $2, senior citizens (65 and over); children ages 7-17, $.50; children under 7, free.
Along with Riley Hospital for Children and Camp Riley, the James Whitcomb Riley Museum Home is a special project of the Riley Memorial Association (RMA). Admission to the poet's home covers 9 percent of the cost of maintaining and operating the museum. The remainder is generously provided by the RMA.
-------------------
Produced for Riley Memorial Association
Contact:
Vicki Bohlsen
317.535.6437
vbohlsen@aol.com
Contact Information:
Riley Memorial Association
Joseph Nchor
Tel:
Email us
This is a press release. Press release distribution and press release services by EmailWire.Com: http://www.emailwire.com/us-press-release-distribution.php.
Riley Memorial Association
Joseph Nchor
Tel:
Email us
This is a press release. Press release distribution and press release services by EmailWire.Com: http://www.emailwire.com/us-press-release-distribution.php.
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