Posted in: Comics, Recent Updates | Tagged: charles schulz, HRL, schulz musem

Charles Schulz Museum Hopes To Reopen In 2 Weeks Following Santa Rosa Fires

Published Fri, 27 Oct 2017 10:00:20 -0500

When fires burned through parts of Northern California earlier this month, the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center was inside the part of Santa Rosa evacuated for the fires in Sonoma County. The museum, which houses a collection of the Peanuts creator's art and memorabilia, including tribute art from other cartoonists, was ultimately undamaged by the fire. However, the home that Schulz shared with his wife Jean Schulz before his death in 2000 was reportedly destroyed. Most importantly, Jean was able to evacuate safely.

In the wake of the fire, the museum, normally a center for community art activities including many programs for children, has been closed. But museum staff finally returned to the building this week, and they're working without air conditioning to protect the artwork and get the museum up and running again. The air in the building is being purified, and some events outside the museum, like a booth at North Bay Science Discovery Day, are scheduled to take place.

On Tuesday, the museum provided Bleeding Cool with the following statement:

We appreciate all of your caring and support during this difficult time, and thank you for your understanding while we go through the process of getting the Museum back up and running. We look forward to reopening our doors so we can continue to share the wonderful legacy of Charles Schulz with the world.

And in a Facebook post, museum director Karen Johnson detailed the cleanup process:

To all the members of our Museum family,

I wanted to share with you the process of bringing The Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center back to life…

You would all be so proud of the staff as they work diligently to ensure that each step of the restoration process of the Museum's environment, and preparing the art to be hung back in our galleries, is done with the utmost care and professionalism. It has truly been a fascinating process to watch and I wanted to update you, as I know you are as invested in saving Charles Schulz's legacy as we are.

We are currently working on the restoration of the air quality inside the Museum and have 20 blowers throughout the Museum purifying the air. Professional cleaners are coming in to clean the air ducts and the Museum's interior, making it safe for staff and artwork to return to the Museum. The collections staff will then come in and clean the art and reinstall our current exhibitions.

Tentatively, we hope to open in the next two weeks. We appreciate all of your caring and support during this difficult time, and thank you for your understanding while we go through the process of getting the Museum back up and running. We look forward to reopening our doors so we can continue to share the wonderful legacy of Charles Schulz with the world, allowing PEANUTS to continue bringing a touch of humor and humanity into our daily life….

Stay tuned, next week, cleaning the art

Karen Johnson
Museum Director