Museum in Santa Rosa - Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center

I didn't grow up in the States but this didn't deter me from getting acquainted with the works of Charles M. Schulz. In fact, I am more familiar with Peanuts, Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Peppermint Patty, Linus and Woodstock than their creator Charles M. Schulz. I remember reading articles in the San Francisco Chronicle about his passing away and saw specials on tv right after his death. Unfortunately, that was when I learned more about this great artist. 

While we were in Sonoma County, Mijo and I made time to dropby the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center.  Let me take you on a photo tour of the museum.

This is the entrance to the museum. The museum is located on Hardies Lane in Santa Rosa, in Sonoma wine country about an hour north of San Francisco. Across the street is Snoopy's Gallery and Gift Shop and Snoopy's Home Ice. Nearby is the Children's Museum of Sonoma County.

[read about Farewell to Schulz in San Francisco Chronicle, June 24, 2011 ]

This is part of a tile mural designed by Yoshiteru Otani. The mural is composed of about ten years worth of daily stips published between 1956 and 1988, or over three thousand ceramic tiles. The entire scene shows Lucy holding a football for Charlie. The mural can be found in the Great Hall section of the museum.

This portrait of CMS can be found in the Great Hall section of the museum. We were met here by a museum member who conducted a very informative free 30-minute overview of the museum.

This Morphing Snoopy bas relief can also be found in the Great Hall of the museum. The art was also designed by Yoshiteru Otani.

This is part of the Strip Rotation Gallery. This part showcases the creative process involved in developing the comic strips. The glass panel on the bottom part of the picture includes original sketches and doodles on notebook paper.

These original comic strips can be found in the Strip Rotation Gallery. Here, original Peanuts comic strips and other Schulz arts changes every four months.

This is a sketch of Patty in the 1950s. This character was later replaced by Peppermint Patty, Lucy and Sally. This is also found in the Strip Rotation Gallery.

[read about the Charlie Brown Cafe blog in Timeless Confection ]

This wall can be found in the Biographical Gallery on the second floor. This section of the museum showcases C.M. Schulz beginnings, timeline and biographical exhibitions. Next to it is the Schulz Studio which is a replica of Charles Schulz's studio.

This section is called the Education Room where you can create your own cartoons, use a zoetrope, and participate in current museum programs. This is also on the second floor of the museum next to the Research Center and the Mezzanine Lounge.

I stopped by the men's restroom before we left the second floor. I couldn't resist not to take pictures of the bathroom tiles. How creative, don't you think?

Woodstock statue outside the museum.

The museum also has a gift shop next to the main entrance and registers. If you have reciprocal museum membership in any museums, this museum is part of the Western and North American reciprocal membership program.

If you are planning to visit the museum, please visit their website at www.schulzmuseum.org.

~rl