Hammond Museum & Japanese Stroll Garden — Attraction in Town of North Salem

Be very careful if you try to book the Hammond for a wedding. Although a beautiful property, the contract to rent the premises is not something I would recommend anyone sign (and as an attorney, I have experience in these areas). First of all, they require the person signing the contract (the wedding couple) to personally monitor alcohol consumption of their guests even though Hammond's sole preferred vendor is providing and serving that alcohol. In the event there is an accident involving anyone driving after having consumed alcohol, the bride/groom are personally liabile to defend and indemnify the facility from any lawsuits/judgments. The Museum also tries to avoid liability by requiring that the couple defend and indemnify them from any lawsuits/judgments from anyone who gets injured on site EVEN IF THE MUSEUM IS THE CAUSE OF THE NEGLIGENCE! Although such a provision is void as against public policy in NY, it should not be in your wedding contract. And in case one of your guests falls or trips on the property and lands on and breaks a museum artifact, the bride/groom are personally liable to pay for the damages within 10 days. So if your guest slips on food that fell off a server's tray and knocks over a painting or a vase, be prepared to pay whatever the value of that is.

Once again, it is a beautiful property and it saddens us that we cannot have a wedding there because of the objectionable contract provisions but a wedding should be remembered for being a happy day and not for...

Hammond Museum & Japanese Stroll Garden is the kind of place you visit filled with anticipation, stroll through with nostalgia about what it once was, and leave with sadness about what it could be if properly taken care of. I visited with a Japanese friend who was aghast at the loss of opportunity presented by the ill-maintained tea room and other once beautiful Japanese structures. As an avid gardener, I felt only sadness at the number of dead or half-dead trees that were left to decay. As a marketer, I left wondering why the Museum management hasn’t struck a win-win deal with a tree or landscaping company to keep the place from looking completely abandoned. A few broken Asian-inspired statues scattered throughout and a lily pond don’t make a dead yard into a Japanese Stroll Garden—no matter how romantic a mind you might have or how enamored you might be of Japanese culture. Never mind the missing exhibits (e.g. giant chess pieces), the fact that the entrance was three time as expensive as advertised on the website, etc. The museum exhibit was nice, but not worth the entrance price in my opinion. I do hope they spruce the place up for special events like tea ceremonies or concerts (which sound really nice), but I’m afraid I’ll never know as this is not a trip I care to repeat. I’m saying this with utmost sadness, as the place has a remarkable history but is an overrated...

There is a wonderful quilt exhibit going on there now. Some really stunning work with incredible detail and interesting hidden messages. We weren't allowed into the photo exhibit as they were working on it. As an avid gardener, I was really looking forward to my visit, but as others have noted, lack of funds or help have left the grounds in disrepair. Having plastic chairs in a Japanese garden should be against the law. If you can't afford more stone benches, just put a rough hewn log bench there. Perhaps get some scouts looking for an eagle scout project involved. I will consider coming back in spring as most of the garden seems like it would be in full bloom then and...