Remarkably, the Palm House glass roof has stood the test of decades of our rigorous climate, but it is now deteriorated to the point where the room cannot be used for anything but a pass-through.

Aerial View showing the Palm House from the exterior.

Palm House interior today with signs of deterioration and temporary repair.

Palm House used as a Member’s Lounge in the early 1950s shortly after Eastman House became a Museum.

Greenhouse interior during George Eastman’s day.

A view of the Palm House exterior during George Eastman’s day.

As you may notice in the historic images above, there were four green houses and an orchid lean-to located next to the Palm House. The lean-to was connected to a potting room, which was connected to the Palm House where tropical plants were grown.

The restoration process is underway with several goals in mind: to restore the safety and comfort, to develop usability of the space, and last but not least—  to make it more energy-efficient. As the gateway between the historic house and the modern museum, it serves as both a first glimpse to the legacy of the man who lived here and his impact today.

Editor’s note: The Palm House Restoration is one of the projects featured in our Photo Finish 5K  Philanthropy Challenge fundraiser.

Timothy’s creation, featuring ‘Gingerbread Mummies’.

For my Pyramids of Egypt Sweet Creation, I made a “test” gingerbread man mummy.  I wanted to make sure the phyllo casing would hold up to a month of exposure at the Eastman House. When I pulled the first mummy out if the oven, the first thing I did was called my mother to let her know what I had just made. Not only did the mummy look cute, gingerbread with added butter and sugar tasted pretty good.

I made the ancient Pyramids of Egypt on behalf of the Membership of the Eastman House— because Memberships help preserve the collections for an eternity!

Editor’s note: we love how creative our gingerbread makers are every year…and have seen some pretty interesting themes. Here are a few from this year’s display:

Rock ‘n’ Roll

Famous Landmarks Holiday Traditional

To see more Museum images, visit our Museum Photographer’s Flickr Photostream.

Betsy Brayer

She is the one who elevated Eastman’s legacy in Rochester, decades after his death in 1932, by researching archives at Eastman Kodak Company to bring his story to life—first in newspaper stories and ultimately in a 637-page book George Eastman: A Biography. 

Betsy has also humanized Eastman, the father of popular photography and motion picture film and for decades the greatest benefactor of American education — beginning with dozens of local newspaper articles she wrote in 1979 and 1980 and ultimately the biography published by The Johns Hopkins University Press in 1996 and reprinted in 2006 by the University of Rochester Press. Betsy’s research on Eastman began as a newspaper reporter writing about the architecture along Eastman Avenue. When she set out to write about historic Eastman House, she learned there was not a lot that was known. The more she learned about Eastman, she uncovered one fascinating story after another, and was encouraged to write his biography.

Betsy has told me she is pleased Eastman’s legacy has been fostered through her research and writing, noting there was a long period where Eastman was “sort of out of vogue, and the focus was on new photography and he was considered old hat.”

Betsy’s association with Eastman House began in 1980, when Museum representatives appointed her historical consultant to guide in the renovation of the house and gardens. And over three decades she has kept Eastman’s Legacy alive through her continued research, publications, and speaking engagements, and by serving on the Museum’s George Eastman Legacy and Landscape Committees.

To honor Betsy for her community contributions as an author and historian, George Eastman House will bestow the title of George Eastman Honorary Scholar upon Brayer during a Dryden Theatre ceremony at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 22. Past recipients of the prestigious George Eastman Honorary Scholar title include directors Ken Burns and John Frankenheimer; actors Dennis Hopper and Jeff Bridges; and writer Roger Ebert.

Although Betsy is formally being honored by Eastman House, representatives from other local organizations will be in attendance to recognize her writing career, as she has authored a book on each:—the Institute for Oral Health, University of Rochester, Friendly Home, Genesee Valley Club, The Chatterbox, and Brighton Historical Society. Her current project is a book about the Eastman Theatre, coming out in December.

The event honoring Betsy Brayer is open to the public. The award ceremony will be followed by a reception in the historic house. Samples of her publications will be on display. Betsy has requested that any donations in her honor be made to the George Eastman Legacy Acquisition Fund. Tickets for this special event are $25 ($20 for Eastman House members), with patron level tickets $50. You can purchase them by calling me at (585) 271-3361 ext. 242 or emailing me at kconnor@geh.org.

Here’s a look at some examples from around our grounds:

Campanula-carpactica

Gaillardia-x-grandiflora

Lobelia-cardinalis

Lobelia-syphilitica

In the following two weeks, students will also be learning about pruning of woody plants and year-end garden maintenance. Yes, it’s that time of year!

One of the more frequently asked questions at the George Eastman House is about the relationship between Eastman and Edison. Were they friends or just business associates? Answering the question usually includes a description of the July 30, 1928 Kodacolor party— as it is one of the major press events both attended.

Eastman regularly used his own home and garden as a site for major press announcements but this was one of the grandest he ever orchestrated. Everyone who was anyone in the media at the time and scientists, educators and community leaders were invited to George Eastman’s Terrace garden to learn about his company’s new product Kodacolor (the first amateur color home movie system).

Eastman and Edison, who collaborated on the invention of motion picture film, stood side-by-side in the Terrace Garden filming their guests during the event. After dinner, screens were erected and the new Kodacolor images shot earlier that day were projected. The impact of the screening made headlines around the world. For anyone who hasn’t seen it, click here to roll it again!

Nevertheless our House Curator, Kathy Connor, was diligent— spending most of her day tending to the crew. She says “it was a fascinating experience to watch them…I don’t usually think of ‘taxidermy’ as an art form, but they were artists in the use of their tools of the trade.”

Job well done guys!

As I walk through the first and second floors of George Eastman House each Monday, to do my weekly inspection, it seems amazing to me that it was 20 years ago that a crew of artisans, contractors and volunteers just completed a massive restoration of George Eastman’s National Historic Landmark home.

The Conservatory today, 20 years after restoration.

Under the leadership of Georgia Gosnell, museum trustee and member of the House Restoration committee the entire exterior of 900 East Avenue and the first floor of the mansion was returned to the splendor Mr. Eastman enjoyed when he lived here from 1905 until his death in 1932.

Most visitors today are surprised when they learn the house had to be restored. They think the house always looked like it does now. Nothing is farther from the truth. But first some history …

When George Eastman died he left his home and all of its contents (that his relatives did not want) to the University of Rochester in his will. The university used the house as the residence for two of its presidents.  The 50-room Colonial Revival home was extremely expensive to maintain so eventually the U of R looked for another use for the property. A group of local businessmen and community leaders decided it would make a great museum of photography and film.

Converting a historic home to function as a museum meant removing doors from all the bedrooms, bathrooms, and closets and making gallery space to show cameras and photos.

Plumbing and plaster ceilings were removed, original light fixtures replaced, and much of the furniture ended up in museum offices or, worse yet, thrown out onto East Avenue.

The museum’s growing collections created a space problem in the house, which eventually led to the building of the 75,000-square-foot archives facility in 1989, leaving an almost empty Eastman House ready for restoration.

The goal was to create a three-dimensional biography of George Eastman — the man who founded Kodak and made photography easy enough for everyone to do.

The Conservatory during the renovation project in the late 1980s.

Using all of the photos GE (as his friends called him) had left behind of his home and all of the letters his secretary was smart enough to save, a “picture perfect” restoration was possible. Craftsmen worked for 14 months to repair the marble and wood floors, reproduce the plaster ceilings, rebuild or repair original furnishings.

Paint analysis and scrapings revealed all of the original colors and they were reapplied. Draperies were remade and hung on the same rods as Eastman had used. Even the hardware door knobs, hinges, and shutter pulls were carefully cleaned and reused or reproduced to match the ones still intact.

As I reflect on so many other changes that have occurred over the past 20 years — including the economy, the revolution we have experienced in hand-held technology, and even my own hair color — I am amazed how well 900 East Avenue has stood the test of time.  It is  truly a testament to the classic design and high quality materials GE selected many years ago and the extraordinary  skilled craftsmen and woman hired two decades ago to restore it.

Repairing and painting the elephant head on Monday, May 17.

With that said, restoration and repair still continue today. As I write this, the reproduction elephant trophy that hangs in the Conservatory is being cleaned and repaired by craftsmen from the Jonas Bros. Studios in Brewster N,Y. (No relation to the popular singing group) I noticed hairline cracks in the trunk and near the ears so I asked them to make a house call.  Why bring in a company from Brewster, NY?  Well they were the taxidermy company GE used in 1928 following the African safari, and they were also the ones that we went to to create and install the reproduction trophy for us 20years ago as part of the original restoration process.]

Everything comes full circle.

To learn more about the restoration process you can stop by the George Eastman  Archive & Study Center or email Kathy Connor at kconnor@geh.org.

For those of you in the deep freeze like us in Western NY, we invite you to enjoy this moment of spring color:

a glimpse at last year's display

The 2010 arrangement is based on George Eastman’s own selection from 100 years ago.  He ordered the bulbs from a Dutch company a year early in 1909 and grew them to maturity in his greenhouses.  Once they were organized, he would invite his friends and family to his home to enjoy the colorful display. 

The bulbs will be here February 12-28. A small exhibit will also be presented on the second floor of the house showing Mr. Eastman’s activities throughout 2010.

For  more info,visit http://www.eastmanhouse.org/Main/exhibitions/detail.php?title=dutch-connection-2010

This year marked our 3rd entry for the Sweet Creations exhibit.  I started decorating cakes over 25 years ago and soon moved to cookies.  After my family and I moved back to Rochester in 1999, my sister, Gig and I decorated cookies each holiday.  She’s an artist and though I love the little details, together we took decorating to the extreme! (Family and friends often thought our treats were too beautiful to eat.)  Gig suggested we create something for the Eastman House and that we stray from the traditional by focusing on the inside of the house rather than the outside. 

Family Room

Our first gingerbread “room” was a family room, complete with fireplace, Christmas tree, cozy furniture and a table set for a meal!  The dining furniture had legs made of cinnamon sticks (the humidity caused the gingerbread legs to collapse).   Our second “room” was a kitchen featuring a tiny gingerbread house project in progress.  This year, our “child’s bedroom” has bunk beds for two sisters!  Their Christmas dresses hang on the door ready for a festive gathering and green pj’s lay ready on their beds! 

Kitchen with tiny gingerbread house in progress

Making a ‘room’ allowed us to use gingerbread to create cute elements such as a dresser, desk (with a top that opens) and bookshelf. We used fondant for Christmas decorations, clothing, tiny shoes, and posters painted with food coloring- including one of Hunt Hollow- and adorable bedding.  You will see that one sister is tidy and made her bed while the other has left her covers strewn about!  The bunk beds were constructed with cinnamon sticks after the first one collapsed – again, the humidity!

Bunk beds for the sisters

Fondant is like modeling clay and with a little practice, easy to work with.  It was even used to create the rug (fashioned after Pottery Barn) and the wood floor.  For the floor, brown coloring was added to fondant, but not mixed thoroughly so the brown was inconsistent.  It was then rolled out, cut into strips and laid down like real floor boards. 

Important tools for this project include Exacto knives, toothpicks, straight edge rulers, frosting tips and anything else that suites our needs (pencils with erasers removed, comb edges etc…). Our final touches were the stuffed animals and pets that our own daughters have adored!  This year the actual gingerbread baking was especially easy as it was done in the bakery at Lanovara Specialty Foods, purchased by my husband Bert and I two years ago. 

Gig and I always wish we had time to create more little tiny details to add to our rooms!  We love this project and supporting the Eastman house!

After I settled into work I was reminded of OTHER Delphiniums at George Eastman House. Edward Steichen, famous for curating the landmark exhibition Family of Man, as well as for making his own  photography, was a  passionate  Delphinium enthusiast. How nice that we have such a lovely display of Delphiniums blooming in the garden, and their ancestors (maybe), immortalized by Edward Steichen, living in boxes in the photo archive. Steichen won many prizes for his cross-breeding of Delphiniums and at one time planted 5 acres of his  Connecticut  home with the flowers. Here  are a couple of his photographs of  these magnificent blue flowers.