History
Walker began preserving cartoon artwork in the 1940s, when he discovered King Features Syndicate using Krazy Kat drawings to sop up water leaks. Walker lived in Greenwich, Connecticut, and in 1974, with a contribution of $50,000 from the Hearst Foundation, he opened his museum nearby at 850 Canal Street in Stamford, Connecticut. Two years later, the landlord decided he could rent the mansion for more, forcing a move to Ward's Castle, a large, dilapidated house in Port Chester, New York. ****Please note that this entry has omitted the fact that the Museum also had occupied what became the Outward Bound HQ on Field Point Road in Greenwich, Connecticut****
The city of Boca Raton, Florida invited Walker to relocate there, and in 1996, the new facility opened. However, the museum did not attract enough donations and two corporate sponsors went bankrupt. To pay off some of the debts, Walker auctioned off a Mickey Mouse drawing in 2001 for $700,000. However, it was not enough; the museum was forced to close in 2002, and the collection was put into storage. An attempt was made to relocate to three floors of the Empire State Building in New York City in 2007, but the deal fell through for reasons that are disputed. Walker finally accepted an offer to merge his collection with that of Ohio State University in 2008.
Read more about this topic: National Cartoon Museum
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