Walt Whitman House & Museum - Camden, NJ
N 39° 56.550 W 075° 07.446
18S E 489397 N 4421382
This landmark has a curator and a state park ranger who give tours of the house-museum. The tour lasted about 45 minutes. Admission is free for this Nat'l Historic Landmark. The house/museum is maintained by the N.J. State Park Service.
Waymark Code: WM70FB
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 08/14/2009
Views: 8
NO PHOTOS OF THE INSIDE OF THE HOUSE/MUSEUM ARE ALLOWED! The main office is to the right of Walt's House. Knock on that door first. The office, Walt's house next door and the rest of the block are a NRHP site, not quite a district, but labeled a neighborhood. The museum itself is an NRHP site as well.
I called ahead and was immediately granted a private tour. it is good to call ahead, especially in the summer as it is not uncommon for busloads of children to be visiting. The house can only accommodate 10 people at a time. The ranger knew so much about Walt Whitman and this house. The museum has been redone to be as authentic as possible using old pictures for its restoration to original form. There is a collection of rare photographs, antique furnishings and fixtures and Whitman's original letters, personal belongings, his death notice which was nailed to the wall and his death bed, amongst some of the artifacts in this museum/house.
In 1884, Walt Whitman purchased a modest, two-story frame house on Mickle Street for $1,750. It is the only house he ever owned. He lived there until his death in 1892, at the age of seventy-two. Out front is a rectangular block of white-gray granite used as a "step-up" for carriages. The initials W W are carved atop this stone block.
I also found this which was interesting:
"Page Ayres Cowley Architects, LLC was retained to prepare an Historic Structures Report and Interior Furnishings Plan and to restore the house to the period when Walt Whitman lived there (1884-1892). Work includes the installation of a museum quality environmental control system, historic lighting and conservation of historic features, custom wallpapers, and floor finishes. This initial contract was extended to include the preparation of comprehensive construction documents for the historic house, replication of wall coverings and lighting and the rehabilitation of two adjacent structures for the resident site curator and museum association/library. This project received several preservation awards, including the New Jersey State Historic Preservation Award and the Victorian Society in America Award."
SOURCE