Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center a must for fans
By Miriam Di Nunzio Staff Reporter/mdinunzio@suntimes.com August 4, 2011 5:56PM
The Museum at the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center in Jamestown, N.Y. | Courtesy of the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center
Updated: November 2, 2011 2:58PM
Elvis Presley fans have Graceland. Lucille Ball fans have The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center.
While the center never was Ball’s home, it is the mecca for all things “I Love Lucy” and the powerhouse couple that made the show a reality.
Located in Jamestown, N.Y., Ball’s hometown on the southern end of Chautauqua Lake in the western end of the state, the center consists of two separate buildings, the Desilu Playhouse and the Lucy-Desi Museum. The playhouse is not a theater, though it is named for the studio where “I Love Lucy” (and “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour”) were filmed. It is devoted entirely to the “I Love Lucy” show with numerous artifacts, props and show memorabilia including replicas of the kitchen, living room and bedroom sets from the Ricardos’ New York apartment and the Hollywood hotel suite set from the series of episodes in which Desi went out West to make a movie with his wife and the Mertzes in tow.
The playhouse collection also includes the original, custom-made “three-headed monster” editing machine created by Dann Cahn for the “I Love Lucy” series, which implemented a three-camera filming system and thus required his newfangled editing bay to view footage from all cameras simultaneously.
“[In the playhouse] we have several original props and costumes from ‘I Love Lucy,’ as well as a set where people can do their own Vitameatavegamin commercial, complete with cue-card script and props,” explained Susan Ewing, director of group sales for the center. “Their friends and family can ‘watch’ them via a vintage 1950s television set while they’re here.”
The 8,000-square-foot museum up the street is separated into eight distinct rooms and serves as a journey through the lives of Ball and Arnaz, via informational panels, murals, interactive stations, costumes, personal belongings, family mementos, video clips, photographs, music, collectibles and such. In honor of Ball’s 100th birthday on Aug. 6, the museum also is showcasing one of her costumes from the film musical “Mame,” which starred Ball in the title role, and her 1972 gold, monogrammed Mercedes-Benz.
“The most important aspect of the center is our mission statement to not only preserve and celebrate the legacy of Lucy and Desi but to enrich the world through the healing power of laughter,” Ewing said. “While I think Lucy would have been thrilled that people are still watching her show 60 years after it debuted, I think she’d be happiest knowing that comedy [in general] was still such a part of people’s lives, and not necessarily just her particular comedy.”
If you go: The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center — The Lucy-Desi Museum, 10 W. Third St., Jamestown, N.Y. The Desilu Playhouse, 2 W. Third St. Hours for both attractions: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 11 a.m to 4 p.m. Sunday. General admission: $7-$10 per attraction; $15 museum/playhouse combo pass. Call 1-877-LUCY-FAN (582-9326); www.lucy-desi.com.
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