Snoopy Gets a Museum August 17, 2002

Peanuts Nuts Rejoice! Snoopy Gets a Museum
Thu Aug 15, 2002
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/nm/20020815/en_nm/life_peanuts_dc_2

SANTA ROSA, Calif.
Peanuts nuts rejoice! Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Linus and Lucy are now on display at a museum in California
devoted to the life and work of the legendary cartoonist who created the lovable band of losers.

The Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center
officially opens its doors on Saturday, giving Peanuts fans a place where they can
explore a replica of the late cartoonist's studio,
peruse a collection of original comic strips and
learn more about the barber's son from Minnesota whose comics touched the lives of millions of fans worldwide.

"The hope is that the museum will send people away with a greater depth of knowledge than they came with,"
Schulz's widow Jean told Reuters at a preview opening of the museum,
a modest building set back from the road in a leafy residential neighborhood.

"We hope this museum is going to be a Mecca for Peanuts fans." Good grief, it better be.

The museum, which officials expect will attract 200,000 visitors annually and boost local tourism,
is located steps from the ice rink Schulz built for Santa Rosa,
his adopted town some 60 miles north of San Francisco.

Just down the path is the studio where he drew the famous characters,
whose aggravating adventures detailed the small trials and tribulations of everyday life.

Stepping into the museum, a visitor is greeted immediately with images of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus and Lucy
along with quotes from Schulz that adorn the walls
and touch on subjects ranging from what it means to be a cartoonist to his views on drawing.

GIANT MURAL
The $8 million museum, a two-story modern building boasting a 100-seat auditorium, a research center,
classroom space and several large-scale art installations,
was funded by the Schulz family and features scenes from some of the Peanut gang's most enduring moments.

A giant tile mural with an image of Charlie Brown running in vain to kick the football held by Lucy
covers a wall composed of 3,588 tiles each with a different cartoon image
and two galleries feature a collection of original strips.

Another highlight is a 7000-pound (3,200 kg) "morphing" Snoopy sculpture
illustrating the evolution of the famous beagle beginning with Schulz's childhood pet "Spike"
and ending with to the floppy-eared character who took on the Red Baron and forever infuriated Lucy.

One part of the museum that is surprisingly understated, however,
is the small souvenir shop featuring the Peanuts items that have generated billions of dollars worldwide.
The museum's director said the point was to provide a connection to Schulz's life and his work --
not cash in on it.

"Our purpose is to promote the legacy and art of Charles Schulz," said Ruth Gardner Begell, the museum's director.
"People can find out why he was so influential in their lives."

Schulz died Feb. 12 2000 at age 77 on the evening before his last Peanuts strip was due to run in Sunday newspapers,
leaving behind a legacy built over 50 years of drawing the comic that influenced scores of new cartoonists.

'DILBERT' CREATOR IMPRESSED
"Dilbert" creator Scott Adams said he was impressed by the scope of the museum
which he said will allow fans of all ages to discover something new about Schulz and his characters.

"I'm probably only a cartoonist because I fell in love with Peanuts when I was a kid," Adams told Reuters.
"This is going to be a Graceland for comics," he said in a reference to Elvis Presley's home in Memphis, Tennessee.

Certainly there is a something for any Peanuts fan.
From a timeline outlining Schulz's service in the Second World War
and the Peanuts debut in 1950 to the cartoons themselves, fans can spend hours wandering the two-story museum.

The museum re-creates Schulz's studio, complete with sketchbook on the desk
and the ink tray alongside the drawing table.
There are also original strips, tributes from fellow cartoonists
and an education room filled with pens and papers where young artists can sketch their own drawings.

Schulz's daughter Amy Johnson added the museum is a fitting tribute, saying the clear,
sparse design of the building characterized the way the cartoonist drew the Peanuts gang.

Johnson added her humble father would never have wanted something like this when he was alive.

"It gives a very good view of the whole 50 years," she said.
"But I don't think he would have enjoyed this if he was alive."

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http://www.charlesmschulzmuseum.org/

http://directory.google.com/Top/Regional/North_America/United_States/California/Localities/S/Santa_Rosa/

The Official Peanuts Website
Snoopy, Charlie Brown and Friends - Charles Schulz
http://www.unitedmedia.com/comics/peanuts/

http://directory.google.com/Top/Arts/Comics/Comic_Strips_and_Panels/P/Peanuts/
http://directory.google.com/Top/Kids_and_Teens/Entertainment/Comics/Peanuts/

http://www.google.com/search?q=Charles+M.+Schulz

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