Keeler Tavern Unveils New Archive Storage Collection Facility

Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center Completes Work on New Museum Collections Storage and Research Facility Partially Funded by Good to Great Grant from the Department of Economic and Community Development of the State of Connecticut

In a ground-floor Visitor Center room that once housed a dentist’s office, Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center has opened its new state-of-the-art Museum Collections Storage and Research Facility.

Completed with a $96,575 Good to Great grant from the State of Connecticut’s Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD), the renovation addresses a long-term critical need for appropriate archival storage and document research.

The new space includes state-of-the-art mobile storage units for securely housing the KTM&HC’s irreplaceable archives comprised of 4,000 historic documents and books and 7,000-plus photonegative glass plates by 19th-century local photographer Joseph Hartmann. Mobile racks for housing the museum’s artwork and print collections as well as open storage shelves for fragile museum artifacts, such as the travelling trunks used by Abijah Resseguie in the 19th century, and a flat file cabinet for storing historic maps complete the outfitting of the new archival collections storage space.

The renovation also included the installation of a new HVAC system, separate from that serving the rest of the building, to maintain temperature and humidity control for sensitive historic artifacts as well as a fire-suppression system.

Designed by Sean O’Kane AIA Architects, the work was completed by Ridgefield-based Sturges Brothers Inc.

A separate research area as a place to study museum documents and artifacts is open to visitors by appointment with museum staff. The research area has a separate entrance and is outfitted with a workspace, cubbies for holding personal belongings, and a restroom.

KTM&HC board president Rhonda Hill says that the research area will be open to the public as soon as it is safe to accommodate indoor activities.

“We’re excited to have this project completed,” Hill said. “We now have a safe, climate-controlled facility to store irreplaceable KTM&HC artifacts and fragile collection pieces in addition to being able to offer scholars, researchers, and students a place where they can comfortably complete their work. We’re grateful to the State of Connecticut for choosing KTM&HC as one of the first facilities in the state to receive this generous grant.”

The terms of the Good to Great grant required a 25-percent match, which was met through generous donors’ capital campaign contributions.

Todd Levine, architectural historian for the state of Connecticut’s Historic Preservation Office, says the KTM&HC project was the first to be completed under the new grant program.

“The State Historic Preservation Office is thrilled to see the completion of the Keeler Tavern Collections Care project. The installation of a climate-controlled, fire-protected, archival collections storage space and workroom in the Cass Gilbert Jr.-designed building will open up portions of the adjacent historic Keeler Tavern for exhibit space, allowing for the continued celebration of this unique and amazing site for our constituents to enjoy.”

Rudy Marconi, first selectman of Ridgefield, also lauded the project.

“A state-of-the-art collections room, thanks to the wonderful support of the State Historic Preservation Office and other generous donors, has been completed at the Keeler Tavern campus,” Marconi said. “Thank you to the State of Connecticut and all the volunteers who made this project a reality.”

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Submitted by Ridgefield, CT

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