Connecticut hometown of late author Maurice Sendak pursues museum honoring his work

Three years after Maurice Sendak's death, his western Connecticut hometown of Ridgefield is pursuing a museum honoring the author of "Where the Wild Things Are."

The town has its sights on a vacant modernist building in walking distance from the village center. The glass structure was designed by acclaimed architect Philip Johnson as corporate offices for an oil exploration company that left in 2006.

A panel of local arts figures recently received endorsement from the town and Sendak's foundation to explore the proposal. Members say they have found overwhelming support for the idea to honor a man whose influence went far beyond that of a children's book author.

Sendak died in May 2012 at the age of 83. He spent the last four decades of his life in Ridgefield.