Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 11, 1990 TAG: 9003112839
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: F-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By JAYNE CLARK LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Invitations aside, there's something unsettling about knocking on this door, as if doing so would invade someone's privacy.
Yet, outside, sunk into the expansive front lawn of this rambling brown brick and wood house, is an engraved plaque that notifies that this is, indeed, the F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum.
The house lies in an attractive, tree-lined residential section of Montgomery, a neighborhood where the money is old and Southern roots run deep.
The house was, for a brief period, the home of F. Scott Fitzgerald, arguably the 20th century's greatest American writer, and his wife, Zelda Sayre, arguably the original 1920s flapper.
The couple lived here for just nine months during 1931 and 1932. But despite the briefness of their stay, the spot is worth commemorating, the museum's curators maintain, because it is the only house the Fitzgeralds shared that is still standing.
They lived here at a time before his slide into alcoholism and her final descent into mental illness.
They had just returned from living in Europe, where Zelda had suffered her first nervous breakdown. After her release from a hospital in Switzerland, they came back to this house in her native Montgomery.
It was here that Fitzgerald reportedly completed "Tender Is the Night," a work he had labored over for nine years.
Zelda was writing her autobiographical novel, "Save Me the Waltz." And it is here that she suffered a second breakdown and their marriage began to crack.
If the house doesn't seem like a traditional museum, that's because it isn't.
It is a home stuck in another era, where ghosts of the Jazz Age walk the rooms.
Visitors can sit on the glassed-in porch and sip coffee with Steven Bouler, the museum's executive director, who also leads personalized tours.
A doctoral candidate in 18th-century studies, Bouler is as adept at discussing Fitzgerald's literary work as he is at chatting about Zelda's outrageous antics.
The building was divided into four apartments years ago, and all four, including apartment B, which houses the museum, are occupied by tenants. (A caretaker lives in the museum.)
The house was rescued from the condominium developer's wrecking ball when it was bought in 1986 by Julian and Leslie McPhillips, who formed a non-profit museum association. He is a Montgomery attorney who lives down the street.
McPhillips believed that, as one of the best-respected and most widely read American authors, Fitzgerald should have a monument to his memory, and that preserving this house would make a fine tribute, Bouler said.
Neighbors sued to halt the project, fearing a tourist attraction would shatter the peace of their quiet neighborhood. But the matter was settled amicably out of court and the museum opened in 1987.
The collection contained here is by no means comprehensive. Fitzgerald's papers are at Princeton University. And even the art museum in Montgomery owns more of Zelda's paintings than the four that hang here.
The bulk of the memorabilia on display is devoted to Zelda, much of it donated by local family and friends. Included are letters she wrote to the author during their marriage, Sayre family photos and several pieces of furniture from their life here.
There also are more frivolous artifacts, such as an 18-inch-long cigarette holder and a hand-painted perfume bottle.
A videotape made by a local news station is available for viewing at the museum. It chronicles the couple's life in Montgomery and includes reminiscences by local residents and relatives.
The F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum is located at 919 Felder Ave., Montgomery, Ala.
It is open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, and by appointment. No admission charge. For more information, call (205) 264-4222.
by CNB