Dr. Seuss I am
Perhaps my pre post teaser might have been a bit easy. But, my wife does love Dr. Seuss. So, I had to do a post about our visit to his hometown. Did you catch all the hints? The picture showed the Cat in the Hat’s hand, not to mention Thidwick the Big Hearted Moose in the background. And, I even signed the last post as “PT am I.” If that’s not enough for you, perhaps you need to do some rereading of the childhood classics. But, be careful not to read those couple of banned Dr. Seuss books. We wouldn’t want to offend or permanently damage you in some way. Anyway, my recent pass through of Springfield, Massachusetts, allowed me the opportunity to revisit all things Dr. Seuss I am.
Theodor Seuss Geisel (1904-1991) led a full life beyond the kindly author image of Dr. Seuss. As an undergraduate student, he was busted for illegal drinking at Dartmouth. Consequently, the Dean made him quit all extracurricular activities including his duties as Editor-in-Chief for the Dartmouth newspaper. To continue writing for the paper, he started using Seuss as his pen name to vaguely conceal his identity. While he did get an undergraduate degree at Dartmouth, he never finished a PhD program anywhere. So, the “Dr” part is a bit of a stretch too. He made his early money mostly in advertising. Around World War II, Geisel did a lot of political cartoons. He even won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for his work on Design for Death, a movie on the post WWII occupation of Japan. Not quite the genre that we expect from Dr. Seuss, huh.
Anyway, the Dr. Seuss that we all know and love did most of his Dr. Seuss children’s books out in California after the war. However, Springfield Massachusetts, was his birthplace. Following his death in 1991, his widow wanted to make it clear which city gets the biggest claim to Dr. Seuss. Through her generosity, the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden opened in 2002 in downtown Springfield. Furthermore, as an additional nepotistic note, the bronze sculptures are the work of Dr. Seuss’ step daughter. But, no complaints here. The Garden and sculptures are high end work.
While I was here for the sculpture garden, there was much more to see there. The sculpture garden is surrounded by a network of museums. These 5 separate museums include the Springfield Art Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, the Science Museum, the Museum of Springfield History, and of course, the Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum. For $25 per person, you get a wrist band and can explore all of the museums. Or, you can do the PugsleyTonks plan, which is to pay nothing. Then, just go through the free sculpture garden without visiting any of the museums. Regardless of the plan you prefer, this is a very pleasant attraction and worth a stop if you are in Springfield. If all things Dr. Seuss I am is not enough for you, the Basketball Hall of Fame is just down the street as well. Have a wonderful day, PT
I hope you have enjoyed reading “Dr. Seuss I Am” on Traveling with PugsleyTonks.
If you enjoyed this post, you may like https://travelingwithpt.com/troll-museum-of-course/
Furthermore, if you wish to visit the sculpture garden or museums, https://springfieldmuseums.org/about/dr-seuss-sculpture-garden/
