An offbeat lot
From dental drills to mourning art and race cars, collections in the area’s lesser-known museums are far from mundane.
Beyond the iconic staircase of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, or the marble columns of the Franklin Institute, museumgoers can find anything from dentists' chairs to Three Stooges memorabilia in Philly's quirky and unusual collections.
There are enough museums and exhibits around to please Philadelphians of all types, no matter how offbeat their interest may be.
For the science-minded. The Wagner Free Institute of Science, at 1700 W. Montgomery Ave., not only offers valuable natural history lessons, but retains the original 1891 layout designed by Joseph Leidy, one of the museum's most prominent curators. The place, with its glass cases and taxidermy exhibits, has a Victorian air. The skeleton of an old draft horse, protected only by a tiny "Don't touch" sign, practically breathes dust down your neck. The institute's prize possession is a fragmented skull of Smilodon floridanus, a saber-toothed cat.
In 1855, William Wagner began offering free lectures to the public and sharing his natural history collections with the public from Elm Grove, his home on the outskirts of Philadelphia. After his death, Leidy took the reins, reorganizing the museum into a format that remains largely unchanged. It still runs the free programs today.
"[The museum] is now one of the oldest free programs in science in the country," says director Susan Glassman.
The Wagner offers evening classes for adults (held off site) and lectures by renowned scientists. Newer developments include partnerships with Philadelphia schools and St. Joseph's University.
How does the museum maintain its free public programs? The same way most nonprofits do: grants, memberships, private donors, and a small endowment.
Book lovers will be fascinated by the institute's library, filled with science books dating from the 17th to the early 20th century.
A history buff with an interest in the Victorian age would love a visit here. Any kid or adult who enjoys zoology would marvel at the collections of exotic birds, uniquely adapted critters such as platypuses and armadillos, and an enormous sawfish. And as always, visits (call to make an appointment for a guided tour) are free.
For speed demons.
When you walk into the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum, 6825 Norwitch Dr., you'll see on the wall this motto: "The first race was conceived when the second car was built."
Competition is a major theme. Race cars of all makes and origins are organized chronologically, set in dioramas depicting the racetracks where these cars were driven. And yes, these are originals that ran in international races - and won.
"The thing that makes this one of the greatest collections of sports cars in the world is that the cars themselves are works of art," says Harry Hurst, communications manager. "We like to say that this is the Barnes Foundation of sports cars."
The cars at the Simeone are all winners. There's the periwinkle 1936 Bugatti "Tank," winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1937; the scarlet 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900, winner of the 1938 Mille Miglia (a 1,000-mile race run in central Italy) and driven by Clemente Biondetti in the first of his four Mille Miglia wins. The museum also has the 1970 Porsche "Hippie" 917, renowned for its psychedelic purple and green finish.
In addition to pre-World War I American cars and Jaguar's first racing model, a range of Italian champion cars bask before a diorama of the Italian countryside. The display features two Alfa Romeo models that placed second in the 1933 and 1937 Mille Miglia races.
Car enthusiasts come out the fourth Saturday of each month to see the museum "exercise" the cars in the parking lot, as Hurst puts it.
"It's good for them," he adds.
Fred Simeone, executive director of the museum, inherited his passion for cars from his father, who loved to collect but didn't have much money.
"I decided that I would use cars like investments," explains Simeone, who says he found stocks and bonds both more confusing and less fun.
Simeone says he arranged the cars chronologically so visitors could see the evolution of the race car as it became safer, smoother, faster, and more efficient.
"That type of competition is something we should all strive for," Simeone says.
If you like cars, the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum will definitely get your heart racing.
A museum of mourning. A narrow, winding road in Drexel Hill leads to a white mansion with a brick-red roof that houses the Toppitzer Funeral Home and the Museum of Mourning Art in Arlington Cemetery.
The museum examines the history of mourning the dead in America. The most prominent piece in the collection is a horse-drawn hearse - a black carriage from 1890 with gold adornments and tapestry curtains. A replica is in service in the cemetery, enabling families to lead their loved ones to the grave in traditional regalia.
"Every person has been sort of dumbfounded," says curator Elizabeth Wojcik, who leads tours of the museum. "It's the best collection they've ever seen. They're amazed by the way it's presented so beautifully."
The Museum of Mourning Art, created by director Anita Schorsch, explores the emblems of mourning that appear on gravestones, paintings, embroideries and books to express grief and portray the afterlife.
The museum is said to have the largest collection of mourning jewelry in the country. These pieces are fashioned from the hair of the deceased, scrupulously painted into tiny scenes on ivory settings. Many such charms were made into brooches, rings, bracelets, pins, waistbands and armbands.
The most valuable piece is a brooch that contains spirals of George Washington's white hair, taken when he was on his deathbed in 1799.
The exhibit also shows Arlington Cemetery's cemetery gun. Families with recently deceased members could hire a gun to be rigged at the gravesite to thwart graverobbers, who might trip a string and set off the gun.
Museum of a master. Wharton Esherick, a sculptor who worked primarily in wood, designed his studio to have no straight lines or right angles. It is located near Valley Forge National Historical Park. The exterior's stone masonry, textured wood, and stucco surfaces, painted with the olives, golds and rusts of autumn, will make visitors catch their breath before using the smooth tree-root door handle to enter.
"I've seen people's lives change as they come through here," says director Rob Leonard.
Works that Esherick created fill every nook, from hand-carved light pulls to his handmade clothes folded neatly in drawers beneath his bed. His studio, maintained since his death in 1970, holds pieces such as two-story, sinewy wooden sculptures and furnishings that are works of art.
One of the focal points is a piece called Spiral Stair, composed of wooden planks, roots, and a mastodon tusk, delivered by the son of Ed Ray, Esherick's friend and lumberer, from an expedition to Alaska. The stairs are collapsible and appeared at the 1939-40 World's Fair in New York.
Esherick found the property in 1913, attracted to it because of a wild cherry tree that would become part of his family's farmhouse. In 1926, he began construction of his studio.
"He chose the spot very intentionally. He wanted to be out in the country, but more or less part of the art scene in Philadelphia," says Lundy Fry, a museum docent. From Paoli, Esherick could catch a train and be in Philadelphia within the hour.
Esherick's wood pieces are in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, but seeing his work in his studio enhances his vision.
"Everyone will gain a deeper appreciation for one-of-a-kind artistry in wood," says Fry.
More unique collections. Other area museums worthy of a trip: the Stoogeum in Ambler, housing more than 100,000 bits of Three Stooges memorabilia; the Philadelphia Doll Museum, 2253 N. Broad St., home to more than 300 black dolls from Europe, America, and Africa; and the Edwin and Trudy Weaver Historical Dental Museum, with dental drills, chairs and X-rays, at Temple University, 3223 N. Broad St.