It's A Wonderful Museum

Fiberglas replica of the Jimmy Stewart statue outside the nearby Indiana County Courthouse

As far as small museums dedicated to a hometown hero / international celebrity go, the Jimmy Stewart Museum in Indiana, Pennsylvania, was a fun place to spend a couple of hours. Let's go!

The museum is located on Philadelphia Street, the main street of Jimmy Stewart's hometown of Indiana, Pennsylvania.

Strange that the main street in a city in Western Pennsylvania would be named "Philadelphia."

You would think a small city such as Indiana, PA, would be stuck in time, but the town does not look like the one in which Jimmy Stewart grew up. The hardware store owned and operated by his father, which was home to the Oscar Jimmy Stewart won for "The Philadelphia Story" until Jimmy Stewart's father's death, is now a large downtown bank. Sadly, it is not called the "Bailey Building and Loan." Maybe it's the bank Old Man Potter got control over after the Stock Market Crash.

Above is the Indiana County Courthouse, with the statue of Mr. Stewart himself out front, in bronze.

This is a photo in the museum of the artist working on the mold, almost like Mr. Stewart is reclining in the make-up chair.

And here is a photo from the museum collection of Jimmy Stewart at the unveiling of his hometown statue in Indiana, PA:

A good bit of the museum is dedicated to movie memorabilia from the career of Jimmy Stewart.

There are other sections, such as the room dedicated to his World War II career. (He was not, contrary to his character in "It's A Wonderful Life," 4-F from the war due to a bad ear. He served. As a Army Air Corps pilot.)  Lots of posters and stills from his many many movies.

Also some awards:

But not the Oscar he won for "The Philadelphia Story." Shockingly, that was in his only Oscar win in five nominations. I'm shocked at not only the fact he has but a single win, but the paltry number of nominations.

However, there is his booth from Chasen's restaurant in Hollywood.

The restaurant closed in 1995. A number of other celebrities (such as Frank Sinatra and Alfred Hitchcock) also had their own booths. Ronald Reagan's booth is in his presidential library. Which reminds of the supposed quote from old time Hollywood mogul Jack Warner, who, upon learning that former Hollywood star Ronald Reagan would be running for president, is reputed to have said, "No. Jimmy Stewart for President. Ronald Reagan for Best Friend."

It turned out to the other way around.

This is Jimmy Stewart's childhood bedroom.

The museum is located in part of the city's library. Jimmy Stewart's childhood home is located a few blocks away and is still a private residence.

In honor of June being National Accordion Month, here is a picture of a young Jimmy Stewart playing the accordion:

The ,museum is much more than a gift shop with a few photos tacked onto the wall. The museum even has a small movie theater inside. A Jimmy Stewart movie is always playing. This week's feature?

"The Philadelphia Story," the one for which Jimmy Stewart won his Oscar. Excellent movie. I stayed to watch the ending.