Director’s Note: Welcoming the Neighborhood of the Arts
When George Eastman lived on his estate, East Avenue was lined with the residences of Rochester’s wealthiest citizens. On University Avenue, Gleason Works already had built its headquarters and a manufacturing facility across from the north side of Eastman’s property. Eastman operated a small urban farm, and his cows grazed in his orchard in the northwest corner of the property. For practical purposes, Eastman erected a wooden fence along his estate’s University Avenue frontage to keep people out and his cows in.
In 2004, the museum’s fence along University Avenue was in grave disrepair. The museum decided to replace it as part of our North Property Rehabilitation Project. We thank the Eastman House Council, Nancy and Bruce Bates, Alan and Nancy Cameros, Robert and Margaret Frame, Daniel Meyers, Patricia and David Patton, Peggy Skow, Joan and Bud Rusitzky, Lisa C. Townson, and the others who generously supported the project.
When the old fence was removed, our staff received numerous letters and comments from people who were thrilled that our beautiful property was no longer walled off from the community. When we then built the new fence, our northside neighbors were disappointed that, despite the revitalization and transformation of the area, our institution was “shutting out” or “turning its back on” the Neighborhood of the Arts.
During my dozen years at the museum, I have many times been told that our University Avenue fence is inhospitable and forbidding. These comments have become more frequent since October 2020, when we moved the museum entrance so that it no longer faces University Avenue and blocked vehicular access to our parking lot from the avenue.
Our University Avenue fence is again in a state of serious disrepair. The fence design — which did not recreate Eastman’s fence — included a flat kickboard that was not properly flashed, which caused water to accumulate against the wooden pickets, soon leading to progressive and irremediable damage. In this situation, regularly repainting the fence would not have solved the problem. The current fence has irreparably deteriorated and now gives a bad impression to anyone who walks, bikes, or drives past it. The estimated cost of replacing the fence is $600,000.
Yet we view the removal of the University Avenue fence as an ideal opportunity to advance our goal of becoming more inclusive and welcoming. Our role in preserving George Eastman’s estate and making it available to the public is anchored on East Avenue, but our role as a world-class museum in the art and science of photography and cinema is more closely connected with institutions on University Avenue — including Writers & Books, the Memorial Art Gallery, the Visual Studies Workshop, and the School of the Arts. Without the fence, the Eastman Museum will become more integrated within and integral to the Neighborhood of the Arts, and be more inviting to members of our community.
Last year, the Rochester Preservation Board voted 4–1 for conceptual approval of the fence removal. The Rochester Planning Board gave site approval in April 2024. At a Preservation Board meeting in June, representatives of the Neighborhood of the Arts and the Park-Meigs Neighborhood Association and area residents spoke in favor of removing the fence. The Board voted 3–2 for final approval of our project, but board approval requires four affirmative votes.
We will return to the Preservation Board and continue to make our case that better connecting our museum with the community is more important than retaining a nonoriginal fence that is not a significant feature of George Eastman’s historical estate.
We encourage you to attend the Rochester Preservation Board meeting at City Hall on Wednesday, August 14, 2024, at 6 p.m. and support our application.
Bruce Barnes, PhD
Ron and Donna Fielding Director
July/August 2024 Bulletin
