Preserving Collections in the 1871 Harriet Beecher Stowe House

FAIN: PF-50212-11

Harriet Beecher Stowe Center (Hartford, CT 06105-3243)
Katherine Kane (Project Director: December 2010 to April 2017)

An implementation project to improve conditions in the 1871 Harriet Beecher Stowe House where household furnishings, paintings, drawings, and decorative art items created or acquired by Stowe are exhibited and stored. A water mist fire suppression system would be installed, the thermal performance of the building envelope would be improved, climate control would be upgraded and extended throughout the house, and light control strategies would be implemented.

The Harriet Beecher Stowe Center (HBSC) seeks implementation funding in the amount of $400,000 for Phase II of a multiyear project to protect the Stowe Center’s nationally significant collections. This request is for environmental and climate control improvements and fire suppression in the 1871 Harriet Beecher Stowe House, replacing outdated and minimally functional equipment, conditioning spaces that have never been conditioned and adding fire suppression. HBSC successfully completed Phase I, the Library/Archives Storage Vault, and that experienced team of staff and consultants will conduct Phase II. Improving environmental conditions in the Stowe House is the highest institutional preservation and strategic priority.