Visitors can once again tour the house where Ernest Hemingway was born.
As of March 6, the Hemingway Birthplace Museum at 339 N. Oak Park Ave. in Oak Park will reopen for visitors on Saturdays, following safety guidelines. There are plans to also allow visitors on Sundays, starting in April.
Author Hemingway was born in a second-floor bedroom of the house on July 21, 1899. The home was built by his maternal grandparents in 1890. He lived there for his first six years. Beginning in 1992, the Queen Anne home has been authentically restored to its 1890s heritage.
Keith Strom, executive director of Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park, which manages the Hemingway Birthplace Museum, said the tour will follow Gov. Pritzker’s Restore Illinois plan.
“We reduced things so we are at 25% capacity,” Strom explained. Tour groups will be limited to a maximum of eight people, and reservations are required.
“Everyone has to be masked,” Strom said. “We do contactless check-in, and we sanitize at the end of each day.”
Carla Mayer is the Volunteer Coordinator for the Hemingway Birthplace Museum, supervising the 30-some volunteers who are either greeters welcoming people to the home, or docents leading tours.
Docents train by “working with others who are currently giving tours. It’s a really supportive situation,” Mayer said. “Someone will be with you to answer questions. We have a standard script that we work with but we pride ourselves on allowing (the docent’s) own expertise. You never get exactly the same tour twice.”
Those who want to view the historic site but are still concerned about being there in-person can attend a Live Virtual Tour for $13-$15. These 50-minute tours are offered at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Thursdays-Sundays. They also require advance reservations.
“The video assets are all prerecorded. The narration is live,” Strom said. “The guide can interact with the participants. Sometimes it will be live to ask questions; sometimes it will be a chat feature.”
People who would like to know more about the former resident of the museum can attend a series called “Conversations on Hemingway: A Virtual Event Series.” Conversations in March include “Hemingway the Author” (March 16); “Hemingway & Biography” (March 18); “Hemingway & Women” (March 24); and “Hemingway’s St. Louis — Andrew Theising” (March 30). April events are “Hemingway, A Film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, Part 1” (April 5); “Part 2” (April 6); “Part 3” (April 7); and “Panel Discussion: Hemingway Documentary” (April 8).
Strom said that the series “came out of Ken Burns and Lynn Novick and the PBS stations. They went through our archives and scanned assets. We’re participating as partners.” They also scanned archives of other Hemingway sites.
Strom noted, “In each of these series events, they grab a main topic and then they welcome in a panel. It always includes Ken Burns and Lynn Novick or some counterparts. Then they have a moderator from a PBS station and one, two, or three scholars.”
They show clips from the documentary before the April 5-7 screening of the documentary.
The conversations are free, but reservations via the museum website are required.
Strom said that the museum has evolved beyond solely focusing on Hemingway. That includes showcasing local performers and artists at the Museum — a program currently on hiatus because of the pandemic. A new book discussion group being planned will focus on diverse voices and discussions.
Strom concluded, “We honor the past but we’re also looking more toward being in the present and supporting future artists.”
In-person tours of the Hemingway Birthplace Museum
When: Hourly from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturdays, starting March 6
Where: 339 N. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park
Tickets: $15 adults; $13 seniors, youth, and college students with I.D.; $15 for Spanish-speaking tour
Information: 708-445-3071; www.hemingwaybirthplace.com
Myrna Petlicki is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
