This Time, Rumors of Demise May Be True

This is such a cool house that Mark Twain built, in Hartford Connecticut. I visited it twice. It would be a shame if they closed it down.

But now the fanciful, three-story confection that was built by Mark Twain in 1874 at the height of his success may be forced to close because it is running out of money.

In a reversal of fortune that seems ripped from the pages of Twain’s classic “The Prince and the Pauper,” the nonprofit organization that has long run the 14,000-square-foot house as a museum told its trustees last month that it was “facing significant challenges” that could force it to shut down.

Though the staff had already been reduced to 17, from 49, the organization formally known as the Mark Twain House and Museum says it is having trouble meeting its payroll and paying suppliers. Unless salvation — in the face of a corporation, foundation, government group or other deep-pocketed benefactor — unexpectedly walks through the door, cash will run out in three to four weeks.

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