Director’s Note: Progress in Preservation
In Alice Through the Looking Glass, the Red Queen admonished Alice, “My dear, here we must run as fast as we can, just to stay in place. And if you wish to go anywhere you must run twice as fast as that.”
George Eastman’s ten-acre estate, with its 35,000-square-foot mansion and three gardens, is truly a wonderland, but — thanks to your generous support and our team’s hard work — we think that we are getting somewhere in its preservation.
When George Eastman’s mansion and gardens were extensively restored thirty years ago, many parts of the historic structure and estate were beyond the scope of that ambitious, transformative project.
Since fall 2012, we have completed restorations of the Palm House, the porte cochère, the Conservatory roof, the north and south sections of the Aeolian pipe organ, the East Porch, the Bruce B. Bates Colonnade, the dormers and roof above the Colonnade, and the pergola and lily pool in the Schuyler C. Townson Terrace Garden. Last month, we completed restoration of 68 windows on the second and third floor of the mansion and installation of protective storm windows for all of them. The George Eastman Museum has invested more than $5 million in these vital projects.
Completion of these projects was made possible by major grants from the New York State Historic Preservation Office and National Park Service; generous donations from Georgia Gosnell, Bruce B. Bates, Dr. and Mrs. Richard Zipf, the Eastman Museum Council, and many other individuals; and benevolent grants from the DavenportHatch Foundation, the Pace Family Fund and other funds at the Rochester Area Community Foundation, and several other private foundations. The Eastman Museum is deeply grateful to all of the supporters of the ongoing restoration and preservation of our National Historic Landmark.
We are currently raising funds to enable the planned restoration and accessibility improvements to the historic Rock Garden and West Garden. Restoration of the deteriorating grape arbor in the Rock Garden is particularly urgent.
In spring 2022, we commissioned Bero Architecture to update its evaluation of the current preservation needs of the mansion. Based on their report, we concluded that restoration and repair of the mansion’s chimneys and parapets was the highest priority project. (The parapets are the sections of the exterior walls of the building that extend above its roof.) The current condition of the bricks and mortar in the chimneys and parapets allows water infiltration into the mansion and could place our staff and visitors at risk.
In July 2022, we submitted an application to the New York State Historic Preservation Office for a $500,000 grant to help fund our Chimneys and Parapets Restoration. I am thrilled to report that we have been awarded a grant for the full amount of our request.
We are grateful to all of our trustees, members, and other friends who wrote letters of support for our grant application. These letters played a key role in the success of our application in a very competitive selection process. We also thank the elected officials — County Executive Bello, County Legislator Barnhart, Assemblymember Bronson, State Senator Brouk, Mayor Evans, County Legislature President LaMar, Congressman Morelle, and Senator Schumer — who advocated for our project, and the members of the Finger Lakes Region Economic Development Council, who determined and recommended to New York State that this project should be a high priority.
The Chimneys and Parapets Restoration is being funded in part by a grant administered by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation through Title 9 of the Environmental Protection Act of 1993. The terms of the grant require that the museum provide at least 25% of the funding for the project. Our preliminary estimate is that the project will cost about $750,000, which would mean that the George Eastman Museum will need to raise $250,000 of private funds to proceed with the project. Our fundraising efforts will begin this spring.
Bruce Barnes, PhD
Ron and Donna Fielding Director
March/April 2023 Bulletin
