East Porch and East Vista will be closed to the public throughout summer 2017; annual Garden Vibes concert series canceled this year
At George Eastman’s historic mansion, the restoration of the East Porch—the second stage in a series of critical preservation projects taking place over several years—will begin in June. These projects are addressing historic structures and architectural elements that were not included in the major restoration of the mansion in 1990.
During the construction period, which will last through this summer, the George Eastman Museum’s East Porch and East Vista will be closed to the public. The public entrances to the East Vista and Terrace Garden from the north and south ends of the property will also be closed to the public. The only access to the museum’s Terrace Garden, which will remain open for tours during the summer, will be from inside of the museum and included with museum admission.
Because of the construction work, the Eastman Museum will not host its annual Garden Vibes summer concert series this year. The museum will continue, throughout the summer, to offer live music inside the historic mansion on Sunday afternoons at 3 p.m. For more information, visit eastman.org/events/live-music.
The current preservation initiative began three years ago, when Bero Architecture PLLC conducted a site condition survey of George Eastman’s historic residence. The survey was funded by a grant from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation through Title 9 of the Environmental Protection Act of 1993 and the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council. The survey identified necessary and urgent restoration and repairs of various areas of the historic house and several garden structures, with an estimated total cost of $3.5 million.
In 2014, the George Eastman Museum received a grant of $500,000 from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation to support the restoration of the mansion’s East Porch and Colonnade. Matching funds to support these projects have been generously donated by Georgia Potter Gosnell, the Davenport-Hatch Foundation, the Rochester Area Community Foundation, and others. Restoration efforts will preserve the historic mansion and ensure that all areas remain safe and publicly accessible.
About the George Eastman Museum
Founded in 1947, the George Eastman Museum is the world’s oldest photography museum and one of the largest film archives in the United States, located on the historic Rochester estate of entrepreneur and philanthropist George Eastman, the pioneer of popular photography. Its holdings comprise more than 400,000 photographs, 28,000 motion picture films, the world’s preeminent collection of photographic and cinematographic technology, one of the leading libraries of books related to photography and cinema, and extensive holdings of documents and other objects related to George Eastman. As a research and teaching institution, the Eastman Museum has an active publishing program and, through its two joint master’s degree programs with the University of Rochester, makes critical contributions to the fields of film preservation and of photographic preservation and collection management. For more information, visit eastman.org.
