The General Lew Wallace Study & Museum is pleased to announce the opening of its 2025 exhibit Building a Blockbuster: The 1925 Ben-Hur.
The exhibit will open at 10 a.m. Tuesday in the recently renovated Carriage House Interpretive Center at the General Lew Wallace Study & Museum.
“My God, did I set all of this in motion?” When Lew Wallace spoke these words in 1899 after seeing the staged production of Ben-Hur on Broadway, he could not have imagined all that he had actually set in motion. Ben-Hur has commanded the nation’s attention for over 140 years. The book is a presence in both popular and material cultural unlike any other work of fiction. Scholars continue to study Lew Wallace and Ben-Hur for the impact the book and its many iterations have had on popular culture. Beginning in 1907 with an unauthorized filming of the story, this work of fiction changed the course of the film industry. This year the museum is celebrating the release of the celebrated 1925 silent film version of Ben-Hur.
The 2025 exhibit shares the many ways that the Ben-Hur property was shared with the public as a book, as magic lantern shows, and in the 1907 film. When the 1925 film was released to the public it was, without question, the most expensive silent film ever produced and was a certifiable blockbuster. It changed the course of the film industry.
The exhibit may be viewed free of charge from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Building a Blockbuster: The 1925 Ben-Hur will run through early December 2025. The Study is also open for guided tours. The Museum requests visitors seeking a guided tour of the Study book their appointment ahead of time, but walk-ins will be accommodated as much as possible. Tours last approximately one hour and are $7 for adults and $3 or $1 for students.
Other upcoming events at the General Lew Wallace Study & Museum include Hoosier Authors Book Club on Thursday and American Battlefield Trust’s Park Day on April 26.
