Two colleges lay claim to Narnia portal

Two U.S. colleges claim to have the piece of furniture that inspired C.S. Lewis to write “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.”

The dueling wardrobes are in the English department at Westmont College in Montecito, Calif., and the library of suburban Chicago’s Wheaton College, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.

Both Christian schools say their wardrobes were owned by the author, who died in 1963. But there is no concrete proof which armoire was the one that led Lewis and countless readers to the land of Narnia.

Westmont’s Web site claims its Lewis wardrobe in Reynolds Hall “served as a model for the magical one he described in his famous children’s book.”

Wheaton officials tend to downplay the literary significance of their armoire, the Times said. However, there is a sign posted next to the wardrobe in the Marion E. Wade Center research library warning: “We do not take responsibility for people disappearing.”