Sam Hill dreamed of establishing a Quaker community on this bluff overlooking the Columbia River near Goldendale, Washington. He built a house naming it for both his daughter and wife, but the latter objected to living so far from anywhere and so it would never be their home.
Friend Loie Fuller, pioneering modern dance innovator for the Follies Bergere, suggested making a museum instead and was instrumental in acquiring the Rodin
pieces it would contain. So it became the Maryhill Museum of Art, dedicated by Queen Marie of Romania, a family friend (Hill had extended aid to Romania after W.W.I), in 1926. Hill died in 1931, before the museum opened. Another friend Alma Spreckels, founder of San Francisco’s Palace of the Legion of Honor Museum, stepped up to see it to fruition, making major donations from her own collections to Maryhill.
Rodin sculpture (including the only pedestal-sized study of The Thinker) and watercolors, native artifacts (including some wonderful basketry), Queen Marie's royal regalia and collection of the books (travelogues and romances) she authored, a set of 1946 Theatre de la Mode French Fashion Mannequins (how fashion shows were done before models and the catwalk), an incredible chess set collection (100 sets), Russian icons, paintings ... amazing stuff in the (sort of) middle of nowhere, Mrs. Hill.
A small café serving simple meals is on the lower level. $7-$8 will get you a substantial sandwich, generous side of potato salad, and a beverage. The corner shelf has all the books published on the museum, its specialty collections, and Sam Hill for you to peruse. A half-wall surround allows you to gaze at the Rodins while eating. Inside seating is limited, but a outdoor plaza accommodates more people and also has great views.
Also there is a giftshop, a Sculpture Garden, and at least 20 noisome peacocks (including an albino) with cries suggesting murder in progress, a garden dedicated to plants identified by Lewis & Clark, and many interpretive signs. The trees beyond the great lawn hide a well-used picnic area. 26-acres of landscaping surround the museum but the grounds actually extend to 6000-acres much of it used for nature conservancy. And then there is the picture-perfect view, both up and down the gorge.
On a bluff 4-miles east, are a number of associated sites, Hill’s burial, his Stonehenge Memorial, the remnants of the planned community, and the first paved road in the Northwest. Read my Stonehenge entry here. And check out the Historic Columbia Gorge Highway/Vista House entry for more on Hill‘s roads.
Flash photography not permitted within the museum.
Open: (Mar. 15-Nov.15 only) (Museum/shop) 9am-5pm. (Cafe) 10am-4pm.
Admission: $7, seniors $6, (6-16) $2. No fee: Sculpture Garden, grounds or parking.
Contacts: 509-773-3733, (fax) 509-773-6138, maryhill@maryhillmuseum.org
Directions:
Oregon: Travel I-84 east, cross the river on US-97 at Biggs, travel Hwy-14 west 3-miles to Maryhill.
Washington: Take Hwy-14 to Maryhill.