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On July 4, Winter Park’s Tiffany museum added Babe Ruth and Paul Revere

In a tradition that began back in 1995, the Morse Museum opened its doors for an Independence Day celebration, attracting hundreds of visitors to a special, once-a-year display.

Many visitors arrived wearing red, white and blue and waving handheld American flags. Some, like Orlando resident Bethany Goodman, walked over from the city’s Fourth of July party at nearby Central Park.

“It’s something we’ve always been interested in doing but we just haven’t made it until now,” said Goodman, who came with her husband and three young sons. “Getting the kids a taste of art is really fun,” she added.

Known for the world’s most comprehensive collection of work by stained-glass artist Louis Comfort Tiffany, the Morse dipped into its vault Thursday for two pieces of Americana — a baseball signed by Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Ty Cobb, among other luminaries of the sport’s earlier days, and a sterling silver cream pitcher made by Paul Revere in 1798. Famous for his midnight ride, Revere was also a professional silversmith.

“He made everything from shoe buckles to large tea services for wealthy families,” said Arielle Courtney, director of community relations for the museum.

The baseball belonged to founding museum director Hugh McKean’s father, Arthur.

Arthur McKean personally got all the autographs on the baseball. In a museum tag, Hugh McKean wrote, “A baseball is a form dictated by function; its elegance is achieved by an economy of means. The fact that this particular ball is signed…gives it a certain appeal even in peanuts and Cracker Jacks circles.”

Kris Rengel, who has taught history at Winter Park High School for the last 27 years, has been coming each year to see the historical artifacts for longer than she can remember. The baseball and pitcher are displayed only on July 4.

“We love this tradition. We actually went to mass to celebrate the Fourth across the street at Margaret Mary, and then we came over here,” Rengel said, using her smartphone to snap her annual photos of the baseball and the pitcher.

Last year, the museum added a life-size plaster sculpture of Louis Comfort Tiffany, by American artist Tom Peterson, to its Independence Day lineup. The sculpture was back this year.

“He’s sitting on one of the chairs in Laurelton Hall. The idea is that visitors can take a photo with Tiffany who would, in fact, be 176 years old this year,” Courtney said.

For those who missed the Fourth of July party, the museum also hosts a free Christmas Eve celebration, although the baseball and pitcher won’t be there. And on Friday nights from November through April, the Morse extends its hours into the evening, bringing in a live band and waiving admission fees.