An interior view, past and present, of the General Lew Wallace Study & Museum in Crawfordsville, Indiana. The General Lew Wallace Study & Museum, an architectural wonder situated on the grounds where Lew Wallace wrote his masterwork Ben-Hur, celebrates Wallace's fascinating legacy and renews belief in the power of the individual spirit to affect American history and culture.

1. General Lew Wallace and His Study

2. “ I want a study… … a pleasure house for my soul; where no one could hear me make speeches to myself, and play the violin at midnight if I choose. A detached room away from the world and its worries. A place for my old age, to rest in and grow reminiscent, fighting the battles of youth over again.” -Lew Wallace, 1879

3. With these words, written to his wife Susan, General Lew Wallace reveals a lifelong dream. It was not until many years later, after the smashing success of his novel Ben-Hur , that he was able to realize his dream.

4. In 1885, while waiting for his replacement as Minister to Turkey, he wrote to Susan: “ What I will do must be decided when I reach home. I know what I should love to do -- to build a study, to write and think of nothing else. I want to bury myself in a den of books.”

5. “ I want to saturate myself with the elements of which they are made, and breathe their atmosphere until I am of it. Not a book-worm, being which is to give off no utterances; but a man in the world of writing -- one with a pen which shall stop men to listen to it, whether they wish to or not.”

6. In 1895, construction began on a 3½ acre site a short walk from his home in Crawfordsville, Indiana. The building was designed by the General himself, and took three years and over $30,000 to complete.

7. General Wallace spent many happy hours in his Study. The Wallaces often entertained there instead of in their home and it was here that he received the legion of visitors that found their way to Crawfordsville.

8. Unfortunately, General Wallace had a mere seven years in which to enjoy his Study. He died at home on February 15, 1905 at the age of 77 and is buried at Oak Hill Cemetery northwest of Crawfordsville.

9. The building uses three styles of classic architecture in its design. The front porch is in the Periclean Greek style… the tower is Romanesque… … and the main building is Byzantine.

10. Bedford limestone, native to southern Indiana, is used for the porches and exterior trim. The limestone frieze, crowning the top of the walls, was hand-carved by Bohumir Kryl, who later became a well-known bandleader.

11. There is a face in the center of each side of the frieze representing characters from two of General Wallace’s books, Ben-Hur and The Prince of India . North Face The Prince, Prince of India West Face Princess Irene, Prince of India East Face Tirzah Ben-Hur, Ben-Hur South Face Judah Ben-Hur, Ben-Hur

12. The main room measures 25 feet square and is approximately 30 feet high. It is topped by a large skylight of frosted glass with a Tiffany stained glass center section.

13. The skylight is open to the protective outside cupola. The cupola contains windows which could be opened by a system of chains and pulleys to allow for ventilation.

14. The floor of the Study is six inches of concrete poured over corrugated steel plates. The floor joists are Carnegie steel I-beams supported by steel uprights. This is a most unusual design for a non-commercial structure.

15. The building was wired for electricity when it was built and a few gas lights were added -- just in case. General Wallace wanted a hundred lights in his Study, and he fell just a few short. At the base of the curve of the dome is a decorative plaster cornice. Integrated into each of these designs are electric lights. There are two “Edison” electric/gas fixtures on each of the walls and two in the fireplace inglenook.

16. The walls of the main room have bookcases built around three sides. They are made of white oak as is all of the woodwork. On the east wall, below the bookcases, are cabinets, also used for storage.

17. The inglenook arch is flanked by two large cases used to store the General’s hunting and fishing gear.

18. In the northwest corner of the room is what looks like a door, but is really a pull-out, full length mirror. This was where he could “. . .make speeches to myself.”

19. The concrete floor of the main room was not carpeted. Rugs were placed or removed as needed. A bare floor would be cooler in the summer, while rugs would help warm the room in the winter. They were stored under the cabinets in the main room.

20. On the west side of the main room is the fireplace inglenook with two side benches. The brick fireplace originally contained a gas log. Above the mantel is a glass case that the General used to display some of his favorite souvenirs. Below the mantel is a carved ram’s head (General Wallace was an Aries). Separating the fireplace inglenook from the main room is a large archway made of tapered bricks and limestone. Using tapered brick eliminated the need for a keystone.

21. There are two doors on the north wall of the main room. The northeast door leads to the piazza, the northwest to a small anteroom.

22. The anteroom has a rounded exterior wall with three arched windows. Two of these windows contained curved glass. The anteroom was also the mechanical room, and it housed the electrical fuses as well as a lever and pulley system to vent hot air during the summer. Before the Carriage House renovation was finished, this space served as the office for staff and volunteers.

23. At the rear of this room is a staircase leading to the basement. It is narrow, steep and curved with tapered treads.

24. The basement has three rooms and was “damp-proof.” The basement contained a bathroom, workshop, wine cellar and working kitchen. It also contained the coal furnace that heated the Study. The basement is no longer open to the public.

25. General Wallace filled his Study with the artifacts of his lifetime as a lawyer, soldier, statesman, diplomat, artist, inventor and author.

26. Art work done by General Wallace is shown along with works from his collection.

27. Biographer Irving McKee says in his book, “Ben-Hur” Wallace : “The Study is bad architecture, but good symbolism. Its eclecticism is American, yet foreign, as Wallace was American, yet foreign; he loved his country and his State, yet lusted ever for distant, unattainable realms.”

28. The Lew Wallace Study is a remarkable place, with its mixture of ancient styles, its modern (for the time) conveniences and the personal stamp placed on it by its builder. On the whole, McKee was correct: its uniqueness is a reflection of its owner, Major General Lew Wallace.

29. Created by Kara L. Edie for the General Lew Wallace Study and Museum 200 Wallace Avenue Crawfordsville, Indiana 47933 http://www.ben-hur.com