Seattle businessman, Sam Hill, built the museum intending it to be his home - part of his vision for a utopian farming community located along the Columbia River. When the community didn’t materialize a friend convinced him to turn the house into an art museum. The art in the museum came from Sam Hill’s own collections and those of his friends who included the Queen of Romania so it’s a pretty eclectic assortment - Rodin sculptures, Romanian furniture and artifacts, icons, paintings, and a collection of great Native American baskets.
The setting of the museum is gorgeous, high above the Columbia River gorge with views in all directions. There’s a large lawn, many trees, a sculpture garden, and a short trail with informative signs leading to an overlook.
The museum is accessible. It was built with a wide driveway that went into the reception hall and is now the wheelchair ramp. It’s a little steep and doesn’t have handrails. The sculpture garden is in soft grass without trails. You can see most of it from the sidewalk edge. The overlook trail is asphalt, accessible but a little steep in spots.
Follow the signs for RV parking. The lot is large and gravel. There’s a sidewalk at the far end that leads to the wheelchair ramp. It’s also possible to drop passengers at the ramp and continue around to the RV parking. Art Museum
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Could this be where the expression "what in the Sam Hill--etc, etc, come from?
ReplyDeleteYes,that is where the expression came from! Sam Hill had many different projects ,some of them pretty offbeat especially for this rural part of Oregon. Locals started saying "what in the Sam Hill..." whenever anyone wanted to do something a little different.
ReplyDeleteOpps- rural part of WASHINGTON!
ReplyDelete