Saroyan House Museum Attracts Many Visitors

Dustin Vartanian
Staff Writer

It was William Saroyan’s wish that his home in Fresno would one day be turned into a research center. Thirty-seven years after his passing his wish was realized. Saroyan’s home for the last 17 years of his life became the first Museum and Research Center in the world dedicated to him.

The process to convert Saroyan’s home into a museum was not easy. According to Professor Barlow Der Mugrdechian, Saroyan’s original wishes were at first ignored by the Saroyan Foundation after his passing in 1981. Prof. Der Mugrdechian explained that after Saroyan’s passing the Foundation decided to sell the property and use the proceeds to establish a special Saroyan exhibit at the Fresno Metropolitan Museum.

Saroyan’s house was therefore sold into private hands and passed through several hands until 2015, when Artur Janibekyan, founder of the Renaissance Cultural and Intellectual Foundation, purchased the house and decided to fulfill Saroyan’s dream. The official opening ceremony of the Museum was on August 31, 2018, which would have been Saroyan’s 110th birthday. A plaque on the Museum states that Saroyan’s home had been placed on the Fresno City and County Registers of Historic Places in 1989.

The Saroyan House Museum is not an ordinary museum that contains physical objects from the author, rather, the Museum focuses on Saroyan’s life story. According to the Renaissance Cultural and Intellectual Foundation, the mission of the Museum is to “educate and promote the legacy and works of William Saroyan and also reveal his talents as an artist; presenting them in a nontraditional style through technology.”

The House Museum has a unique futuristic feel to it. Inside, Saroyan’s life story is told through different uses of technology. However, on the outside the House Museum appears to be just an average home located in the middle of an ordinary neighborhood.

Before entering, I pictured the inside of the house to look like how it did when Saroyan lived there. When I first stepped inside, I realized that this was not the case. An image of Saroyan’s face was projected on the wall. The image, composed of lines from Saroyan’s drawings, changes to reflect Saroyan from different points in his life, ending with Saroyan House Museum logo. An illuminated white wall, filled with rocks that Saroyan had collected from around the globe, is the next stop. Each stone represents a memory that Saroyan had, and Saroyan quotes are interspersed on the wall with the rocks.

The main hall of the Museum contains several separate sections. One wall has ten monitors on which movies or TV shows based on Saroyan’s works or interviews with the author are playing. There are also documentaries about him, including some made in Armenia.

One of the long walls in the main hall is interactive, as images along the wall light up as the viewer passes by. One of these walls is devoted to images from Saroyan’s life, presented chronologically from his birth to his death. It was interesting to think how much of a world phenomenon Saroyan was because of all the photos of him with people from around the world.

The other main wall is devoted to Saroyan’s drawings and paintings. This is a little realized part of Saroyan’s legacy. Each of these drawings or paintings consists of lines and shapes done in an abstract style. I wondered what Saroyan was trying to communicate. A fourth wall displays book covers from Saroyan’s books, many of which he designed.

Finally, the most fascinating area in the museum is the hologram room. One stands in front of a room that appears to be Saroyan’s office with his desk and typewriter. Suddenly, Saroyan’s voice is heard and then Saroyan appears as a hologram. He then continues to speak while he strolls around his office. It was amazing observing this world-famous author being brought back to life. Saroyan said one of the most interesting quotes I have heard from an author: “My advice to young writers today would be for God’s sake don’t take anybody’s advice because then you’re not a writer. If you’re a writer you don’t need anyone’s advice, you don’t want anybody’s advice.”

The Saroyan House Museum is a place where the more time you spend, the more you will be able to learn. There are so many captivating aspects of Saroyan’s life that can be learned by visiting the House Museum.

Altogether, the Saroyan House Museum is a must see for visitors from Fresno or from any place in the world.

Reservations to visit the Saroyan House Museum can only be made online by visiting the saroyanhouse.com website, and clicking on the “Make a Reservation” button. 

The Museum is open Tuesdays-Saturdays.