Dr. Seuss Sculpture Garden in Springfield MA
Green ham and eggs anyone? To the right, the Lorax leaves visitors with the thought "Unless..." All Photos/C. Danko © 2001-2009
Dr. Seuss mesmerized millions of children with his goofy characters and strange worlds where green eggs and ham were the preferred breakfast foods, and a Grinch and his dog Max stole - and then gave back - presents to children around Christmas-time.
The likenesses of those memorable characters, as well as that of Seuss himself, have been carved into bronze and arranged in a sculpture garden in a courtyard of Springfield Museum. Theodor Seuss Geisel, the man behind the Dr. Seuss moniker, grew up in Springfield MA in the early 1900s. According to the website for the Dr. Seuss National Memorial, he included some local Springfield street names and landmarks into his stories.
There were often positive social and political messages in Seuss' writings. For example, the main character in Yertle the Turtle was a dictator who forced turtles to be stacked up on top of each other so that he could stand on top of them and reach the moon. Yertle was thought to be a reference to Hitler, and Yertle eventually falls into the mud. The Butter Battle Book had analogies to the nuclear arms race during the Cold War. And the Lorax became an early representative of the environment movement when he pleaded on behalf of the trees that were being chopped down.
"Oh, the Places You'll Go!"
If you enter the garden from the entrance near the parking lot, the first character you'll meet is the Lorax, the small-statured, bossy man who leaves you with the unanswered thought "Unless ..." Further into the garden the Grinch and his dog are present, the Cat in the Hat stands alongside a seated and working Seuss, and characters from several other tales are portrayed with appropriate quotations from the tales.
While strolling through the park, you can visit with Horton the Elephant, see Thing One and Thing Two as they get into some mischief, and read from the text of Oh, the Places You'll Go!, which is inscribed on the pages of a giant bronze book.
Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden
Springfield Museums
