Recreating The Carriage House

The Warner House will be open Thursday through Sunday from May 26 until October 16 2022 from 11 AM - 4 PM.

Recreating The Carriage House

Recreating the Carriage House, formerly situated in the corner abutting Chapel Street and St John's parking lot and demolished in the 1960s, is well on the way to becoming a reality. Originally the idea of Richard Candee over 25 years ago, the project has long been approved by the Board but lacked traction until last fall when, even before its re-approval, 6 Board members pledged $50,000 toward completion. We have just initiated a fundraising campaign and the total is now over a $100,000 with some $200,000 to go. Anne Whitney is the architect, modifying plans long drawn up by Board member Phil Kendrick. The city approval process is well under way and we plan to schedule construction for Spring, 2022.

The plan is to recreate the exterior appearance of the two story 18' X 32' structure, with a modern, functional, year-round interior providing many amenities the Warner House does not afford. These include, on the ground floor a handicap accessible bathroom, potentially opening the first floor of Warner House to handicap accessibility. The remaining ground-floor space would provide a multi-purpose meeting room to be utilized for hands-on school group activity, Association Board and committee meetings, staging area for garden rentals, lectures, rotating exhibits, video presentation of background material and areas not accessible by the handicapped or not open to the public, as well as other public events. The second floor would accommodate the archaeological collection in viewable drawer cases, a large decorative arts library and a 150 piece viewable ceramic study collection designed to match the archaeological sherds. This venue could well become a significant attraction on its own. The area would also accommodate a work/study/processing area for curatorial and archaeological objects.

The Carriage House space will nicely jibe with the 1815 kitchen update of a modern micro-kitchen and gift shop generously provided by Sandra Rux in memory of her brother.

Most importantly these upgrades will allow the Association to expand its outreach with respect to members, school groups, the general public and future research, all necessities to survive and thrive in a challenging future.

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