House of Happy Walls museum opens for visitors

News that Sonoma County would enter the red tier, with its allowance of indoor visits to restaurants, gyms and museums, prompted the crew at Jack London State Historic Park to get to work preparing the House of Happy Walls museum for visitors, welcome when the facility reopens on March 17.

That’s just over a year from the date it closed, on March 14, 2020, as part of the county-wide shutdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Though it opened for two weeks in July, the launch of the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy in August shut it down again.

Then there was the Glass fire, whose approach to the Glen Ellen area led to the removal and storage of the museum’s displays, in September of 2020. As both fire season and the pandemic cooled down, the displays and artifacts were reinstalled last month.

The House of Happy Walls was designed by architect Harry P. Merritt and built in 1919, after the writer Jack London’s death, to be his widow Charmian London’s home and, ultimately, a museum. She lived in the house until 1952.

The exhibits at the museum, which opened in 1960, reflect the life and adventures of the Londons. The museum closed in 2016 for almost two years as its exhibits were redesigned in a more modern multi-media style. It reopened in late 2018, but between the fires and the pandemic it has frequently been shuttered and its contents in storage.

This week, the newly re-designed exhibits in the museum open again to showcase the adventurous and inspiring lives of the Londons.

“The museum has never looked better and we are looking forward to safely welcoming visitors back to explore both the history and natural beauty of our beautiful state park,” said Matt Leffert, executive director of Jack London Park Partners, the nonprofit which runs the park.

He added that since the museum had so recently been refreshed, “some returning visitors may feel like it’s a whole new experience.”

The House of Happy Walls, and its ill-starred predecessor the Wolf House – lost to a mysterious fire only weeks before its expected completion in 1913 – form the anchor of Jack London State Historic Park, along with the couple’s farmhouse, writer’s cottage and other rural structures.

The state park spreads over 45 acres and with few exceptions hiking has been allowed at the park for much of the past year. The trails climb the east side of Sonoma Mountain and provide wildflower and birding walks, photogenic scenery and vistas, and organized hikes and events.

On March 20, former teacher Phil Weil will lead a brisk wildflower hike of 4-5 miles beginning at 10 a.m. and continuing until about 1 p.m. Participants are advised to dress in layers and bring sturdy shoes, water, hiking poles and something to eat. Six-foot distancing and face masks are required.

For more information or to register, visit jacklondonpark.com/events/spring-wildflower-hike-2021.