Young Hammerstein wants a Doylestown museum of his grandfather's work

Pieces of Oscar Hammerstein II's legacy remain scattered about his former Doylestown farmhouse.

There's the room where he wrote the lyrics for Oklahoma!

The long porch where he strolled after the success of South Pacific.

And the master bedroom where he died of stomach cancer in 1960, about a year after the debut of The Sound of Music.

"This is where he felt at home," his grandson Will Hammerstein said Thursday during a tour of the property, previewing the cultural institution he hopes to bring to Doylestown.

His vision includes tours of the renovated house, a museum in the barn with artifacts from famous productions, and a 400-seat theater with a regular slate of Hammerstein's acclaimed shows. In all, the project could cost more than $20 million.

The Doylestown Township zoning board on Monday will decide whether to approve Hammerstein's grand vision. One problem: Some township supervisors want to keep parts of it behind the curtain.

"Logistically, it doesn't make much sense," said Ryan Manion, one of three supervisors who has urged the zoning board to deny Hammerstein's request for variances.

Manion, who said she supported the idea of a Hammerstein museum, said the five-acre property next to Doylestown Country Club and near Route 202 lacks the space to support a theater.

There is too little room for parking, she said, and the residential neighborhood could be overrun by traffic when shows are put on.

"The plan they put forward does carry a burden," Supervisor Ken Snyder echoed last week.

Hammerstein, a 52-year-old Brooklyn-based lawyer, has been working to modify the blueprints to satisfy some of the township's concerns ahead of Monday's hearing.

But beyond X's and O's, Hammerstein's pitch is likely to include his personal connection to the house and his famous grandfather - and the desire to preserve that legacy.

"His work has made my life so much easier," said Hammerstein, whose grandfather's largesse helped him through college and law school. "I feel the need to thank him for that."

Will Hammerstein never lived at the Doylestown farm. But his grandfather's incredible success was essentially born there.

Richard Rodgers visited Oscar Hammerstein II at the modest, three-story house on his way back from a show in Philadelphia around winter 1941, said Hammerstein's biographer Hugh Fordin.

The two had met before, but that meeting planted the seeds that led to Oklahoma!, Fordin said. When the show opened in 1943, it instantly became a phenomenon.

"If you can put together Phantom of the Opera, Cats, and maybe Lion King - that's how successful it was," Fordin said.

The duo's next show, Carousel, was an even bigger smash, according to Fordin. From there, the hits flowed - South Pacific, The King and I, The Sound of Music.

Hammerstein wrote most of the lyrics in Doylestown, Fordin said.

Some verses appear inspired by the farmland, according to Will Hammerstein, such as the opening lines of "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning," from Oklahoma!

There's a bright golden haze on the meadow

There's a bright golden haze on the meadow

The corn is as high as an elephant's eye

At the time his grandfather wrote those words, Will Hammerstein said, the windows surrounding his desk offered two views: a meadow on one side, a cornfield on the other.

Those are the types of stories Will Hammerstein wants to share with the public through the new museum and theater.

While the supervisors say the plan is too large for the site, Hammerstein said the stage was needed to generate revenue.

He also said he thinks seeing a musical just steps from where the lyrics were written would be a powerful experience for Hammerstein fans.

"I want people sitting in that seat, thinking about where they were today," he said.

Many hurdles remain, he admitted. He would need to find a stage manager, for example, and a staff to manage the property.

But first, Hammerstein said, comes the zoning board. If it denies his proposals, the property's future is unclear.

The current owner, Christine Cole, runs a bed-and-breakfast in the house but said she can't generate enough revenue to keep it open. She is assisting Hammerstein's efforts and says that without them, she will likely sell.

Manion said the land had previously been subdivided and could accommodate private houses.

Hammerstein hopes it does not come to that. His grandfather's legacy at the farm, he said, deserves to be celebrated for generations to come.

"It's important to me to be able to say thank you," he said. "This is my way to give back."

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