George Eastman House: What You Don't Know But Should
George Eastman House
George Eastman HouseSo, raise your hand if you like libraries. Great, lots of hands. Now raise your hands if you know about libraries inside of museums. Hm, not as many hands. Ok, let's talk about this.Specialty museums with big collections make many aspects of their collection available to the public. And take, for example, the George Eastman House.
George Eastman Museum |
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George Eastman Museum in Rochester, New York
To enumerate:
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| Location | 900 East Avenue, Rochester, New York, United States |
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| Built | 1905 |
| Architect | J. Foster WarnerMcKim, Mead and White(interiors) |
| Architectural style | Georgian Revival |
| Website | www |
| NRHP reference # | 66000529 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | November 13, 1966[1] |
| Designated NHL | November 13, 1966[2] |
The Museum
George Eastman Museum is the world's oldest museum dedicated to photography[3][4] and one of the world's oldest film archives, opened to the public in 1949 in Rochester, New York.In fact, it is world-renowned for its collections in the fields of photography and cinema, the museum is also a leader in film preservation and photograph conservation, educating archivists and conservators from around the world.Now, as home to the 500-seat Dryden Theatre, the museum is located on the estate of entrepreneur and philanthropist George Eastman, the founder of Eastman Kodak Company. Without comparison, the estate was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966.
The Collection
Finally:The collection includes George Eastman's house and the George Eastman Archive and Study Center.[11]Importantly, since opening in April 1999,[12] the George Eastman Archive and Study Center has acquired Eastman's personal possessions and documents pertaining to Kodak's early history.[13] Hence, it has over half a million items[11] within its climate controlled vault.[12]Furthermore, the archive is accessible from the easy to reach second floor of the house.[12] Items within the house itself include fragments of Eastman's coffin,[14]a mounted elephant head,[15] and even an Aeolian pipe organ.[16]
Gannett Foundation Photographic Study Center is open as follows:
Wednesday–Friday, 10 a.m.–12 p.m., After lunch 1–4 p.m.photostudycenter@eastman.org or fill out a research request form.(585) 327-4870
From the Museum's Website to Researchers
However, the photography collection vault will be closed to researchers through February 28, 2019, in order to complete necessary upgrades to the environmental systems.Moreover, the equipment that controls the temperature and humidity in the vault is thirty years old and in critical need of replacement. Therefore, this project will help ensure the long-term preservation of and access to the photography and technology collections. Because of this, we apologize for the inconvenience and look forward to accommodating researchers again after March 1, 2019.
