KATHY MATHESONAssociAted Press

PHILADELPHIA

A plan to convert Broad-way lyricist Oscar Hammer-steins former home into a tourist attraction appears to be falling on deaf ears, but his grandson hopes public officials will soon start sing-ing a different tune.

Hammerstein spent 20 years at Highland Farm in suburban Philadelphia, where he co-wrote musi-cal blockbusters such as The King and I, Okla-homa! Carousel and South Pacific.

Now, Will Hammerstein wants to transform the property into the Oscar Hammerstein II Music & Theatre Education Center. But Doylestown Township supervisors and neighbors object to the scale of the $20

million proposal, saying it is too much development for the parcel. A zoning hearing is scheduled for March.

Oscar Hammerstein purchased Highland Farm in 1940, and it was there that he and Richard Rodg-ers formed their creative partnership, according to Hammerstein biographer Hugh Fordin. Though Ham-merstein had a townhouse in New York, the farm became one of his favorite

things the place where he worked on The Sound of Music and every other production with Rodgers.

This place was deeply important to him, said Will Hammerstein.

Oscar Hammerstein raised cattle on the 40-acre property, which included a century-old, three-story house with plenty of room for his fam-ily of seven. His youngest son, James, attended the

nearby George School with fellow student Stephen Sondheim, who became a frequent visitor to the farm.

After Hammerstein died of cancer at the farm in 1960, his widow sold the land. It passed through many hands over the decades, losing acreage as it was subdivided in an in-creasingly suburban county.

By the time current own-er Christine Cole first saw the house eight years ago, a punk rock band was rent-ing it the windows were boarded up, and the floors were littered with cigarette butts and beer cans.

She turned it into a bed-and-breakfast, with each room dedicated to a different Rodgers and Hammerstein musical. Cole had grander plans to renovate the barn, too, but lacked the resources.

Then Will Hammerstein serendipitously made a res-ervation at the B&B in 2010. He was in town for a re-

union at the George School, which he also attended, and wanted to see the inside of his grandfathers house.

Together, Cole and Ham-merstein came up with an

idea for a classic Broadway fan experience: a house tour, followed by a museum exhibit in the barn and capped off with an actual performance.

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In the last few years, Sugar Bowl has invested $20 million in upgrades, includ-ing the new Crows Peak lift on its western boundary. Sugar Bowl also acquired the nearby 6,000-acre Royal Gorge cross-coun-try ski resort and is investing $750,000 in improvements. With additions and changes,

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In the 1941 Walt Disney cartoon The Art of Skiing, Goofy slips and slides out of the shed-roofed Sugar Bowl Ski Resort lodge, where hes bunking, and heads to the slopes for a number of spectacular spills. In the background, theres occasional melodic yodeling, per-formed by resort founder Hannes Schroll, an Austrian ski racer and instructor who also spent time at Yosemite National Park. The yodel-ing has declined markedly since the ski area opened 75 years ago, but the resort and lodge, still privately owned, look much as they did in 1939. Moreover, the black-diamond runs remain as challenging.

Magic winter kingdomSugar Bowl, with its ties to Walt Disney and ample snow most years, celebrates 75 years as a resort in the Sierra

Hammerstein museum plan Hits sour note for someFarm home is where he, Rodgers wrote many musicals

Owner Christine Cole stands near the home where Oscar Hammerstein co-wrote Broadway shows. AP

Four-time Olympic competitor Daron Rahlves on the slopes at Sugar Bowl. He serves as an ambassador for the resort. GrANT BArTA

A snowboarder heads down a run at Sugar Bowl, which averages about 500 inches of snow in the winter. CATH HOwArd SugAr Bowl

Walt Disney, his wife and daughter stand outside the Sugar Bowl lodge in this vintage photo. SuGAr BOwl rESOrT

A Sugar Bowl ski instructor rides a lift at the Donner Summit resort, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. CATH HOwArd SugAr Bowl

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