Bing Crosby Collection
(museum)Gonzaga University
502 East Boone Ave.
Spokane, WA 99258
Website: Bing Crosby Collection
Gonzaga University's Crosby Student Center houses the Crosbyana Room, where about 200 pieces of the world's largest public collection of Bing Crosby memorabilia is displayed. More of the immense Crosby collection is housed in the Foley Center's Rare Book vault.
502 East Boone Ave. Spokane WA
The Crosby collection is housed at Gonzaga University. The school maintains an extensive collection of original manuscripts, records, trophies, plaques, music, photographs, and so much more. The vast majority of these items were donated by Bing himself. The university received the entire collection from the Bing Crosby Historical Society in Tacoma, Washington. Several collectors have also contributed some incredible items to the collection.
Today, the Crosbyana Room in the Crosby Student Center functions as a museum dedicated to Bing's life. Visitors can see approximately 200 items, including the duplicate Oscar he won in 1944 for Going My Way. There are twenty-two gold and two platinum records from such titles as "White Christmas," "Silent Night," and "Swinging on a Star."
The Crosby Collection includes: approximately 1400 records and albums, 800 audio cassettes, 2000 discs of radio shows, 300 pieces of sheet music, and an extensive magazine and clipping file about Bing's life and career. There are numerous scrapbooks created by his adoring fans, Crosby's correspondence with Gonzaga, and hundreds of photographs depicting his high school, college, and career days. The collection also contains books by and about Bing and his contemporaries, and publications by various Crosby fan clubs from throughout the world.
The university's website offers a wonderful virtual tour of the collection. If you are interested in viewing the collection, please be mindful of the building's hours.
--Annette Bochenek for Classic Movie Hub
(Read about Annette's Classic Movie Travels at Hometowns To Hollywood)