Wardrobe Returns to Westmont After Tour

Westmont’s famed C.S. Lewis wardrobe has returned from a four-year international tour as part of “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Exhibition.” The wardrobe, which was purchased in 1974 from the Kilns, C.S. Lewis’s Oxford home, will be the center of attention at a welcome-back reception Friday, Jan. 20, from 3:30-5 p.m. in Reynolds Hall. The event, sponsored by Westmont’s English Department, Provost’s Office and Literary Society, is free and open to the public and includes readings from Lewis’ work and refreshments.

The wardrobe was prominently featured at the beginning of the traveling exhibition, which included other items that Lewis used when he penned the seven-book series, “The Chronicles of Narnia.” The wardrobe made about a dozen stops, including the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala., the Louisville Science Center in Kentucky, the Telus World of Science in Edmonton, Alberta, and the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.

In the exhibit, the wardrobe included a plaque that read: “Wardrobes were common in England when C.S. Lewis was writing “The Chronicles of Narnia.” Lewis himself owned several, including this one. Although Lucy calls it “a magic wardrobe,” what the other children see is just a “perfectly ordinary” wardrobe. Like this one, it’s “big” and has a mirror (a “looking-glass”) in its door. Can you imagine why Lewis would choose such an ordinary entrance to the extraordinary world of Narnia? On special loan from Westmont College.”