‣ What Is Thurber House?
Founded in 1984, Thurber House is a nonprofit literary arts center, James Thurber museum, historic landmark, and gathering place for readers, writers, and artists of all ages. We are based in the restored 1873 home of humorist, cartoonist, author, playwright, and journalist James Thurber, widely considered one of the foremost American humorists of the 20th century. Thurber House programs include The Thurber Prize for American Humor, author events featuring nationally bestselling authors and local authors, writing workshops for children and adults, writer residencies, and more.
NAVIGATE
‣ Visit Thurber House (historic museum) — Museum hours, tours, location, parking, and accessibility
‣ Visit Thurber Center (offices and event/program space) — Administrative office hours, and information about visiting and renting our multipurpose event/program space
‣ About the Thurber House Museum — History, restoration, points of interest, and spooky tales
‣ About James Thurber — Learn about Thurber’s life and legacy
‣ Thurber House Programs — Discover current programs
‣ Visit Thurber House and Thurber Center
VISIT THE THURBER HOUSE MUSEUM
Thurber House is located at 77 Jefferson Avenue, Columbus, OH 43215. Look for the large 77 and National Register of Historic Places placard next to the door. The James Thurber Historical Marker is located here.
Hours:
Thurber House is open to visitors on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 1:00–4:00 pm ET. You can drop in any time. Note: All planned closures are posted on our website and are not necessarily reflected on Google.
Admission:
Standard admission for all visitors is $5 per person. There is no additional charge to take a guided tour (when available). We accept cash, check, credit/debit, and Apple/Google Pay.
Large student/senior groups (more than 10 visitors) receive a 20% discount on admission. The group must be identified as a school, senior citizen center, etc. All large group tours must be scheduled in advance.
Tour Options:
Self-guided tours are always available during museum hours. There is no additional charge aside from the standard $5 museum admission.
Guided tours are available on most Sundays, occasional Saturdays, and a few Tuesdays/Thursdays during museum hours. There is no additional charge aside from the standard $5 museum admission. Should you wish to check whether guided tours will be available on your planned visit day, email us at least two business days in advance.
Large group guided tours (10+ visitors) must be scheduled in advance. Please contact us at least two weeks before your visit so we can prepare for you. Large group guided tours may be scheduled any time, seven days a week. Student and senior groups of more than 10 visitors receive a 20% discount on admission.
VISIT THURBER CENTER ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES and EVENT/pROGRAM SPACE
Thurber Center is located at 91 Jefferson Avenue, Columbus, OH 43215, right next door to Thurber House. Thurber Center houses our administrative offices, and is a modern multipurpose event/program space that is available for rental.
Hours:
Thurber House staff are generally available by phone and email Monday–Friday from 9:00 am–5:00 pm ET, except major holidays. Note: Please call us in advance at 614-464-1032 if you plan to visit our offices in person.
Thurber House/Thurber Center PARKING
On Jefferson Avenue: Easy street parking is available all along the Jefferson Avenue oval. Parking is free, with a three-hour limit, between 8:00 am–6:00 pm. Parking is free, with no time limit, after 6:00 pm and all day on Sundays. Note: only the spots along the one-way oval are free; the spots along the two-way ends of Jefferson Avenue (near Broad Street and Long Street) are not free.
Off N. 11th Street (behind Thurber House): Free visitor parking is available in the small lot directly behind Thurber House, accessible off N. 11th Street and located here. There is no time limit as long as you are visiting Thurber House. All other parking lots do not belong to Thurber House and you may be towed.
ACCESSIBILITY
The first floors of Thurber House and Thurber Center are handicap/wheelchair accessible, including the first floor restrooms. There are no elevators, but all staircases to the second floor are wide with handrails. If you are visiting the Thurber House museum and are unable to navigate stairs, contact us to arrange a virtual photo tour from the first floor.
How to reach the wheelchair ramps:
If you park on Jefferson Avenue: There is a slight curb (some wheelchairs can navigate this). The closest “ramp” cut is the entrance to the large parking lot on the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Long Street (here).
Thurber Center wheelchair ramp: Follow the sidewalk through the Thurber Center front gate. Take the sidewalk around the porch on the right side of the building. The entrance to the wheelchair ramp will appear on your left, past the porch.
Thurber House wheelchair ramp: Follow the sidewalk through the Thurber House front gate. Take the sidewalk around the left side of the House. The entrance to the wheelchair ramp is near the rear corner of the House (here).
If you park in the Thurber House rear parking lot: Follow the sidewalk between the handicap parking signs (here). The sidewalk will take you around the north side of our multipurpose building, Thurber Center.
Thurber Center wheelchair ramp: The ramp will appear on your right and leads up to the front porch.
Thurber House wheelchair ramp: Continue east past Thurber Center toward the street (Jefferson Avenue) and turn right toward Thurber House. Follow the sidewalk through the Thurber House front gate and around the left side of the House. The entrance to the wheelchair ramp is near the rear corner of the House (here).
Thurber House Museum CLOSURES
Planned Thurber House museum closures are posted in the announcement bar at the top of our website. Thurber House is closed on all major holidays, and between December 24 and January 1 each year. On weekends, Thurber House is staffed by our stalwart volunteers. Occasionally, difficulties arise and they are unable to open the House as expected. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience.
‣ About the Thurber House Museum
James Thurber’s original Underwood typewriter
Built in 1873 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Thurber House is the former home of James Thurber, one of the foremost American humorists of the 20th century. Thurber and his family lived in the home from 1913–1917, while young Thurber was a student at The Ohio State University. Known for his quirky and relatable characters and themes, Thurber’s work took many forms, including short stories, cartoons, stage plays, fables, newspaper columns, and more. Many of his drawings and stories first appeared in The New Yorker.
Today, Thurber House is a nonprofit literary arts center that offers creative programming for adults and children, as well as a James Thurber museum and historic 19th century home that is available for public tours. Thurber House opened in 1984 after extensive renovation led by Donn Vickers, Arthur Vorys, and Luke Feck.
RESTORATION
In the decades after the Thurbers moved out of 77 Jefferson Avenue, the home changed hands many times, becoming a music school, beauty shop, and boarding house. The home gradually fell into disrepair and was slated for demolition in the 1970’s. Before the home could be torn down, attorney Arthur Vorys purchased all of the properties on the Jefferson Avenue ellipse, intending to restore the homes and turn the block into a community of nonprofit organizations. Faced with rotted floorboards, painted-over woodwork, covered fireplaces, and extensive deterioration, the preservationists had a major undertaking in the restoration of 77 Jefferson.
James Thurber’s younger brother Robert, who was still living at the time of the restoration, was instrumental in returning the home to its former glory. Robert’s memories and donations of personal items made it possible for the preservationists to restore 77 Jefferson to the way it looked when the Thurber family lived in the home from 1913–1917, complete with wallpaper, antique furnishings, and preservation of the woodwork. Today, Thurber House is part of the Jefferson Avenue Center, the current iteration of the block organization started by Donn Vickers in the 1970’s. True to Arthur Vorys’ original vision, the properties on the Jefferson Avenue ellipse are home to nonprofit organizations and small businesses dedicated to making a positive impact in the world.
A LIVING MUSEUM
The first two floors of the Thurber House Museum are open to the public for tours. Rooms on view include the formal parlor, the living room and its alcove, the dining room, five bedrooms, and the bathroom Thurber hid in to avoid the ghost running up the back stairs.
At the direction of the Thurber family, Thurber House is a living museum where interaction with some museum materials is permitted, allowing visitors to experience the house as if they were the Thurbers' guests. The home is filled with Thurber artifacts, memorabilia, antique furnishings, and informational panels and photographs about the family and James Thurber’s life and career.
Several famous stories in Thurber’s book My Life and Hard Times took place in the House, including “The Night the Ghost Got In” and “The Night the Bed Fell.” Thurber was a student at The Ohio State University during the time he lived in the home, and drew inspiration from this experience for many of his works, including “University Days” and The Male Animal.
The dining room where James Thurber famously heard ghostly footsteps circling the table has been transformed into a museum shop containing one of a kind Thurber-themed items and James Thurber books. Visitors can walk up the very stairs and stand in the very spot where Thurber stood on “The Night the Ghost Got In” (optional: hiding in the very bathroom where Thurber hid from the ghost!).
James Thurber’s bedroom closet is now a repository of signatures from authors who have been hosted by Thurber House. Photographs of authors who have done events with Thurber House are located on the first/second floors, and photographs of writers who have completed residencies at Thurber House are located in the stairwell to the third floor. The third floor of Thurber House is a private modern apartment for visiting writers.
HAUNTED HISTORY
A quick Internet search will tell you that Thurber House is reputed to be haunted. James Thurber himself claims to have heard a ghost in the House on November 17, 1915, and believed to his dying day that the home was haunted. He even changed the address of the House in his short story “The Night the Ghost Got In” so he wouldn’t scare the people who were living at 77 Jefferson. Two historical events are potentially associated with the unusual activity:
The land where Thurber House sits is the former site of the Central Ohio Lunatic Asylum, which burned down in 1868, killing six women in the fire and fatally injuring another. Many people believe that the victims never left.
In 1904, a few years before the Thurber family moved in, a prominent jeweler named Thomas Tracy Tress was living at 77 Jefferson Avenue. One evening, while in his bedroom getting ready for supper, he picked up a gun he thought was not loaded, and accidentally shot and killed himself in the home. Several days later, Mt. Vernon Commandery, No. 1, Knights Templars, held his funeral service at 77 Jefferson Avenue.
Visitors to Thurber House are welcome to ask about the ghosts. Staff, visiting authors, and others have experienced unusual phenomena over the years, including a clock chiming despite not being operational, the glass in a picture frame inexplicably shattering all over the floor, sightings of glowing orbs and a man in a collared shirt, phantom footsteps, the sensation of being touched/poked, and more.
Does Thurber House allow private investigations? Yes. We permit a limited number of groups per year to conduct private investigations at Thurber House. There is a fee, 100% of which supports Thurber House. To inquire, email us at thurberhouse@thurberhouse.org.
THE DOG GARDEN & THE UNICORN IN THE GARDEN
The Dog Garden: Thanks to a garden-loving benefactor and the landscaping vision of Cynthia Benua, men, women, and dogs can enjoy the peaceful Thurber Centennial Reading Garden located between Thurber House and Thurber Center. Sculptor Dale Johnson’s four larger-than-life-size Thurber dogs frolic amid dogwoods, bayberries, viburnum, and an assortment of “flars” (as dubbed by a certain Thurber cartoon). In the center of the garden, a fifth dog playfully perches on top of a tranquil fountain.
The Unicorn in the Garden: In the elliptical Thurber Park across the street, a unicorn tosses its head as it considers which of the summer lilies it will eat next. The unicorn is modeled after the creature in Thurber's story "The Unicorn in the Garden," the full text of which is engraved near the statue. The unicorn is one of two matching sculptures—the other is located on the grounds of the Columbus School for Girls in Bexley, a few miles east of Thurber House on Broad Street.
THURBER’S LEGACY ENDURES
In addition to being a James Thurber museum, Thurber House is a nonprofit literary arts hub that serves as a gathering place for readers, writers, artists, and Thurber enthusiasts from all over the world. The likes of Toni Morrison, Jodi Picoult, Janet Evanovich, John Updike, Garrison Keillor, Jane Pauley, Suze Orman, Nikki Giovanni, David Sedaris, Ian Frazier, Sue Grafton, and many more have appeared at Thurber House programs.
Every year, Thurber House offers residencies for writers of adult and children's literature. Writers stay for a month in the fully furnished, two-bedroom apartment on the third floor of Thurber House, enjoying the time and space to focus on their projects. Other Thurber House programs include The Thurber Prize for American Humor, author events featuring nationally bestselling authors and local authors, and writing workshops for children and adults.
Named for humorist, author, playwright, cartoonist James Thurber, Thurber House celebrates the funny and preserves the legacy of its namesake. If you're a James Thurber fan who wants to preserve his legacy to inspire future generations, or if you simply believe in the power of the literary arts and humor, we invite you to pay tribute and join us in supporting this legacy.
‣ Click here to see a list of the authors who have visited Thurber House through the years!