A CHF60m (US$67m, €49m, £40m) museum dedicated to the life and times of Charlie Chaplin at the former home of the Swiss cinema legend is set to open in 2016.
The currently run-down Manoir de Ban in Corsier sur-Vevey, where Chaplin died in 1977, was purchased by Luxembourgian investment firm Genii Capital in 2008 with the intention of designing a museum.
Overlooking the Swiss Alps, Manoir de Ban is complete with a grand library lined with leather-bound collections of 19th century
Punch and
Strand magazines. It was the main place where Chaplin made films, wrote books and composed musical scores for his works.
The estate, which Chaplin made his home in 1952 after being banned from returning to the US because of his alleged political leanings, consists of an area of about 14 hectares (34.5 acres) and comprises the house, a farm, woodland, terraces, gardens and pathways.
The new Chaplin’s World Museum will cover more than 3,000sq m (32,200sq ft) of Chaplin memorabilia, presented as multimedia, cinematographic and the virtual world of the silent film star.
The site will include a movie theatre, outdoor stage, two additional buildings – which will be used to recreate sets from Chaplin’s movies – and a film school. In addition, photographs and records dedicated to the actor’s rise from his impoverished London beginnings to international fame for his movies and characters will be on display.
